Taipei, Taiwan - Taiwan on Wednesday dispatched military forces to respond to China's "live-fire" drills less than 50 miles from the self-ruled island's coast, Taipei's defense ministry revealed.

China deployed 32 aircraft around Taiwan as part of a joint combat drill and announced "live-fire exercises" in an area about 40 nautical miles off the island's south coast, Taipei's defense ministry said in a statement.

"The PLA has blatantly violated international norms by unilaterally designating a drill zone 40 NM off the coast of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, claiming to conduct live-fire exercises without prior warning," the ministry said.

"Taiwan's military responded by sending sea, air and land forces to "monitor, alert and respond appropriately", the AFP has reported.

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"This move not only caused a high degree of danger to the safety of international flights and vessels at sea, but is also a blatant provocation to regional security and stability," the defense ministry was cited as saying by AFP.

China has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around Taiwan in recent years, holding regular live-fire exercises in an attempt to intimidate and press its claim of sovereignty over the island.

The ministry said China's move "is completely contrary to its repeated claims of 'peaceful coexistence' principles" and vowed to "continue our efforts in force buildup and readiness."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian refused to comment on the "shooting training" when asked about it by Reuters during his daily press conference.

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All spokesperson Lin said was "This is not a question related to foreign affairs," before moving on to other topics.

He did, however, go on to make China's stance on Taiwan clear later in the same press conference when he used the term "'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces" when asked about the US government's military support of Taipei.

"We urge the US to stop arming Taiwan and undermining the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. China will closely follow the situation and firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity," Lin said.