TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 15 Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Monday (Jan. 15) and 6 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 16).
Of the 15 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane and one Chinese drone 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 one Chinese balloon at 2:20 p.m. on Monday 233 km (125 NM) northwest of Pingtung at an altitude of 6,400 m (21,000 ft). It disappeared at 3:09 p.m. on Monday.
So far this month, Beijing has sent 129 Chinese military aircraft and 68 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.”
(MND image)