TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 22 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Tuesday (July 2) and 6 a.m. Wednesday (July 3).

Of the 22 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 20 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the northern, southwestern, and southeastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. The aircraft closest to Taiwan was a helicopter detected in the southwestern ADIZ about 81 km (44 NM) southwest of Eluanbi. 

The ministry monitored the situation with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and scrambled combat patrol aircraft, dispatched naval vessels, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems.

So far this month, the MND has detected Chinese military aircraft 41 times and naval vessels 19 times. Since September 2020, Beijing has increased its use of "gray zone tactics" by operating more military aircraft and naval ships around Taiwan.  

According to CSIS, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force."