China said it successfully evacuated more than 600 nationals from conflict-torn Yemen and conducted an air force drill on Monday over the western Pacific Ocean—two operations that illustrate the country’s growing military capabilities.

Nearly 500 Chinese nationals left the Yemeni coastal city of al-Hodayda aboard a navy frigate, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Monday evening. More than 122 departed on Sunday from the port of Aden, Xinhua said; didn’t say how. In both operations, the Chinese and citizens of six...