The People's Liberation Army conducted naval drills near the Taiwan Island on Tuesday, according to the PLA Eastern Theater Command.

The command said in a statement that its destroyers, frigates, fighters, and bombers have started to carry out drills of identification, warning, and expulsion, strikes on hostile vessels, fleet air defense, and anti-submarine warfare in waters to the north and south of the island.

The operation is intended to test the units' capabilities of joint operations and regional blockade, it added.

On Monday, the command organized a large-scale, inter-service exercise surrounding the Taiwan Island, deploying a large number of forces to perform various kinds of drills.