TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 33 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday and 6 a.m. on Friday. 

Twenty-three of the 33 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s northern, central, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone, according to the MND. 

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

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 139 times and ships 73 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.