TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense detected 34 Chinese military aircraft, eight naval vessels, and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Twenty-five of the aircraft reportedly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s northern, central and southwestern air defense identification zone, according to the ministry. In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

Unusually, on Friday, the defense ministry commented on the repeated military drills China has been conducting around Taiwan. It stressed, “These acts are highly provocative, fail to pay proper attention to the maritime rights of other countries, bring anxiety and threat to the region, and blatantly undermine the status quo in the region.”

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 107 times and ships 56 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.”