TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The defense ministry reported six Chinese military aircraft and five vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, with three balloons also detected.

Three of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the country’s northern and southwestern air defense identification zone, or ADIZ. In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor Chinese activity.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 332 times and ships 186 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. 

CSIS defines gray zone tactics 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.”