TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked nine Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 6) and 6 a.m. on Wednesday (Feb. 7).

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed land-based 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 air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during that time.

The MND also tracked one Chinese balloon on Tuesday crossing the median line 154 km (83 NM) west of Keelung at 12:56 p.m. The balloon traveled northeast and disappeared at 2:59 p.m.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked 61 Chinese military aircraft and 30 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)