Two of the exercises are being held near the Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea, one in the East China Sea, and one in further north in the Bohai Sea, the Maritime Safety Administration said in notices on its website.

In the southern part of the Yellow Sea, drills including live-fire exercises will be held from Monday to Wednesday, it said in another notice, Reuters reported.

All ships are prohibited from entering the area, it said.

In a bid to train a combat-ready military force, China holds military drills periodically, but rarely do multiple exercises happen at the same time.

Last month, China announced four separate exercises, from the Bohai Sea to the East and Yellow Seas and down to the disputed South China Sea, in what Chinese military experts said was a rare arrangement of drills.

The United States sent spy planes into a no-fly zone over Chinese live-fire military drills last month. In response, China lodged “stern representations” with the United States.

China and the United States have recently been at loggerheads over a range of issues from Taiwan to the coronavirus pandemic to trade.

China has also held frequent military activities near Chinese-claimed Taiwan and has taken the usual step of declaring that such drills are directed at Taiwan.

The drill, codenamed Zolfaqar-99, had begun on Thursday with forces from various units in attendance, including the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense.

The drill zone covered an area of 2 million square kilometers in eastern parts of the Strait of Hormuz, Makran Coast, Sea of Oman, and northern parts of the Indian Ocean, down to the 10-degrees latitude.

Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the exercise, Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said a broad range of homegrown equipment was utilized in the war game, including submarines, drones and missiles.

The commander said the massive drill has assured the people of Iran that the Armed Forces are fully prepared to protect the national interests.

The message of the war game for the ill-wishers is that they should never test the Islamic Republic of Iran and avoid miscalculations, otherwise they would “receive a regrettable response”.

Iran’s Armed Forces hold routine military exercises throughout the year.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never subject to negotiations.

A spokesperson for Payambar-e Azam 14 (The Great Prophet) war game, whose final stage began on Tuesday morning, said the military exercise is based upon plans for fighting hybrid warfare and network-oriented combats proportional to the IRGC’s offense doctrine.

General Abbas Nilforushan noted that the forces attending the drills make maximum use of telecommunication and optical devices and well as manned and unmanned equipment to exercise tactics for biological warfare.

Anti-ballistic and anti-cruise missile defense operations were carried out in the war game, he added.

The general also said the IRGC forces have used a series of “surprising equipment and weapons” in the drills, such as long-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting the intruding naval targets at a far distance.

The spokesman added that the exercise involves a large number of popular forces and Naval Basij servicemen.

The military exercise has been held in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, western parts of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.

The final stage of the war game includes joint operations by missile units, vessels and drones from the IRGC Navy and missile, drone and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force.

Satellite images taken by Iran’s homegrown ‘Noor’ (light) satellite that was launched into space in April have been used to evaluate the situation in the war game zone.

The IRGC Public Relations said the final stage of the military exercise, codenamed “Payambar-e Azam 14 (The Great Prophet)”, started on Tuesday morning in Hormozgan, the south of Iran western, parts of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.

The joint exercise, including forces from the IRGC Navy and the IRGC Aerospace Force, involves ground, aerial, naval, and space operations.

The final stage of the exercise in the South includes joint operations by missile units, vessels, and drones from the IRGC Navy and missile, drone and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force.

The servicemen attending the war game exercise offensive operations using missiles, drones and vessels, offensive mine-laying operations, and tactics to cut off the naval connections of the hypothetical enemy, missile combat operations using helicopters, and launch of coast-to-sea missiles.

Satellite images taken by Iran’s homegrown ‘Noor’ (light) satellite that was launched into space in April have been used to evaluate the situation in the war game zone.

The IRGC successfully put Noor into orbit on April 22. The Iranian satellite was launched with the three-stage satellite carrier Qassed (messenger) from a launchpad in the Dasht-e Kavir, a large desert in central Iran.

Iran’s Armed Forces hold routine military exercises throughout the year.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never subject to negotiations.

Back in February 2018, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson Zhao Lijian, the US move was aimed to drive a wedge between the two countries.

Beijing’s statement comes in response to the US naval exercise in the disputed waters involving two aircraft carriers – the Nimitz and the Reagan. According to the US navy, the manoeuvres will send an unambiguous message to the US allies regarding Washington’s commitment to “security and stability” in the region, Sputnik reported.

The United States previously voiced concerns about Beijing’s military exercises in the sea around the Paracel Islands. The Pentagon warned that the move would further destabilize the situation in the South China Sea and violate an international pact to avoid activities that would escalate disputes in the region.

The majority of islands in the South China Sea are controlled by Beijing; however, the territory is also claimed by several other countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, and the Philippines – all members of ASEAN.

The war game code-named Aerial Power of Fadaeeyan-e Harim-e Velayat 7 (Devotees of Velayat Airspace 7) started on Tuesday morning in the central province of Isfahan with the participation of all air bases of the IRIAF.

During the third stage of the first day of the aerial exercises, Iran’s Sukhoi Su-24 fighter-bombers and Phantom combat planes conducted carpet bombing.

Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor.

Earlier General Massoud Roozkhosh, the spokesman for the war game, had said the military exercises, will last for two days.

Dozens of bomber airplanes, fighter jets, military transport aircraft, communication and reconnaissance planes, tanker aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are slated to take part in the war game, he stated.

The commander also said various defense systems and weapons developed or upgraded by the country’s academic and industrial centers and the Ministry of Defense are planned to be showcased during the two-day drills.

Various kinds of domestically made missiles and bombs, including smart heavy and semi-heavy bombs as well as laser and radar-guided missiles, will be used in the war game, General Roozkhosh went on to say.

Iran’s Air Force holds annual war games in a bid to boost capabilities to defend the country’s airspace.