TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked six Chinese naval vessels and three military aircraft around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday.

The ministry said one of the three People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone, or ADIZ.

Two fighter jets were detected on the northwest edge of the median line. One unmanned aerial vehicle was tracked in the southwest sector of the ADIZ. 

The ministry monitored the situation, dispatched aircraft and naval vessels, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems in response.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 491 times and ships 224 times. Since September 2020, Beijing has increased its use of “gray zone tactics” by operating military aircraft and naval vessels around Taiwan.

According to CSIS, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force.”