TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 30 Chinese military aircraft and nine naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Friday (July 5) and 6 a.m. Saturday (July 6).

Of the 30 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 23 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the northern, southwestern, and southeastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. The aircraft came as close as 72 km (39 NM) from Eluanbi in the south and 77 km (42 NM) from Keelung in the north. 

Taiwan sent combat patrol aircraft and naval vessels and deployed land-based air defense missile systems to monitor the PLA activity. 

So far this month, the MND has detected Chinese military aircraft 131 times and naval vessels 35 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."