China Air Force on Sunday has conducted another series of drills and patrols in the Western Pacific region after passing through a strait between Japanese islands.

Shen Jinke, a spokesperson from the People's Liberation Army Air Force, said that the sorties, which included more than 40 bombers and fighter jets, were part of its regular long-range drills in the Western Pacific and patrols over the East China Sea Air Defense identification Zone (ADIZ), Press TV reported.

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In a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Defense, Shen said the patrols were necessary to "carefully monitor and judge the foreign military aircraft that enter the anti-aircraft defense zone, to take measures to respond to different threats in the sky, and to protect national airspace."

The Air Force's fleet also included H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters, and air tankers, according to state-backed Xinhua News agency. It conducted reconnaissance and early warning, attacks on sea surface targets, and in-flight refueling.

The aircraft of China Air Force did the drills after it flew over the Miyako Strait, according to the statement. Miyako Strait, which is a body of water located between Japanese islands Miyako and Okinawa, has been often utilized as a strategic route by the Chinese navy to enter the Pacific Ocean from eastern China, Reuters noted.

The exercises, however, took place amid increasing tensions over China's presence in the South and East China Seas.

Meanwhile, a fleet of Chinese bombers, fighters, and early warning and aerial refueling aircraft also flew via the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan and the Philippines, to conduct exercises in the Western Pacific earlier this month.

TagsChina Air Force, People's Liberation Army Air Force, South China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, Japan, china, Miyako Strait