TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked seven Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 30) to 6 a.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 31).

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) activity, according to the MND. No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line or entered the country’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during that time.

Meanwhile, one Chinese balloon was tracked crossing the median line at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday 119 km (64 NM) northwest of Keelung. It traveled east and disappeared at 12:15 p.m.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked 298 Chinese military aircraft and 136 naval ships. 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)