TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 45 Chinese military aircraft, 14 naval vessels, and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday and 6 a.m. on Thursday. 

Thirty-four of the 45 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s central and southwestern air defense identification zone, according to the MND. 

On Wednesday, China suddenly announced a live-fire zone 74 km off Taiwan’s southern coast for joint PLA air and naval force exercises. The MND said PLA aircraft carried out maneuvers with Chinese naval ships.

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

So far this month, the MND has tracked Chinese military aircraft 445 times and ships 215 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.”