TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked nine Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 7) and 6 a.m. on Monday (Jan. 8).
Of the nine People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that time.
In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the PLA activity.
Three Chinese balloons were also tracked at 11:54 a.m., 12:35 p.m., and 8:45 p.m. on Sunday after crossing the Taiwan Strait median line at locations 191 km (103 NM) west of Keelung, 157 km (85 NM) northwest of Keelung, and 211 km (114 NM) west of Pingtung. The balloons headed east and sequentially disappeared at 12:30 p.m., 2:55 p.m. on Sunday, and 12:21 a.m. on Monday.
So far this month, Beijing has sent 57 Chinese military aircraft and 32 naval ships 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 one out of nine PLA aircraft and Chinese balloons. (MND image)