TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 24 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Tuesday and 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
Twenty-one of the 24 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the nation’s northern, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone, according to the MND.
In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval vessels and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.
So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 155 times and ships 94 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.”
