One of China's seven military command groups held a joint military drill involving infantry, artillery and air forces to improve the ability of paratroops to land on and capture an island.

The exercise by the Nanjing Military Command is thought to be part of a show of strength by the Chinese military as tensions rise in a three-way dispute between China, Japan and Taiwan over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The islands are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing and Taipei, and tensions peaked after the Japanese government recently bought three of them from their private owners.