A military drill staged in China's southeast [Photo: js7tv.cn]

Military drills China has been staging in its southeast recently are not aimed at any specific target, the Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday, in response to media reports of a ramping-up of such training exercises.

"The drills are routine arrangements according to the annual training plan," according to a statement from the ministry's information bureau. "They are designed to test and improve troops' capabilities of dealing with security threats and accomplishing military missions."

It said the drills should not be "over-interpreted."