TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 15 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Monday (Aug. 21) and 6 a.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 22).

Of the 15 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, two Chengdu J-10 combat jets, two Xian JH-7 fighter bombers, and one Shenyang J-16 fighter jet flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. No PLA aircraft crossed that Taiwan Strait median line during that time.

So far this month, Beijing has sent 273 military aircraft and 148 naval ship sorties 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 resorting to direct and sizable use of force.”



Flight paths of five out of 15 PLA aircraft. (MND image)