TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 33 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Friday (May 26) and the same time Saturday (May 27).

Of the 33 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 12 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan’s southwest and southeast ADIZ (air defense identification zone). These planes included four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, four Chengdu J-10 combat aircraft, one Shaanxi Y-8 antisubmarine warfare aircraft, one WZ-7 reconnaissance drone, one Shenyang J-16 fighter jet, and one Z-9 antisubmarine warfare helicopter.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and used land-based missiles to monitor PLA activity.

So far this month, Beijing has sent 296 military aircraft and 120 naval vessels around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan.

Gray zone tactics are defined as “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force.”



Flight paths of PLA aircraft. (MND image)