TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 10 Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Monday (Jan. 8) and 6 a.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 9).
Of the 10 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, two Shenyang J-16 fighter jets entered 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.
The MND also tracked four Chinese balloons on Monday at 11:53 a.m., 1:58 p.m., 7:36 p.m., and 8:24 p.m. crossing the median line at locations 217 km (117 NM) west of Keelung, 287 km (155 NM) northwest of Pingtung, 315 km (170 NM) southwest of Keelung, and 319 km (172 NM) southwest of Keelung, respectively. The balloons headed east and sequentially disappeared at 1:07 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 10:24 p.m., and 9:43 p.m. yesterday.
So far this month, Beijing has sent 67 Chinese military aircraft and 36 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 two out of 10 PLA aircraft and Chinese balloons. (MND image)
