TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 21 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Saturday (April 20) and 6 a.m. on Sunday (April 21). 

Of the 21 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 14 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the MND. Three entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and two were detected in the northeast ADIZ.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the PLA activity. 

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 193 times and naval vessels 125 times. 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.”