TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 59 Chinese military aircraft, 23 naval vessels, and eight official ships around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday and 6 a.m. on Thursday. 

Thirty-one of the 59 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the country’s northern, central, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone, according to the MND. 

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

China carried out two days of military exercises around Taiwan called “Strait-Thunder-2025A” on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 135 times and ships 50 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.”