TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 22 Chinese military aircraft, nine naval vessels, and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Tuesday (July 23) and 6 a.m. on Wednesday (July 24). 

Of the 22 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 12 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the country’s southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor the PLA activity. 

So far this month, the MND has tracked Chinese military aircraft 521 times and ships 177 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels 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.”