Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has repeatedly complained of Chinese military activities, including several rounds of full-scale war games over the past three years.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said that starting shortly before 9am it had detected 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out a “joint combat readiness drill” with Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait area.

“During this period, it even blatantly violated international practice by setting up a drills area in the waters about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Kaohsiung and Pingtung without prior warning, claiming that it would carry out ‘shooting training’,” the ministry said.

The training endangers the safety of international flights and shipping and is a “blatant provocation” to regional peace and stability, the ministry said in a statement, adding that it had dispatched its own forces to keep watch.

There was no immediate confirmation from China that it was carrying out any new drills around Taiwan.