TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have risen nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released Sunday by the DPP’s Department of China Affairs.
The department said that security conditions in the Taiwan Strait have continued to deteriorate in recent years, with tensions rising across the entire First Island Chain, per SET News. It said Beijing is using its expansionist military ambitions to push for changes to the status quo.
It said Chinese aircraft activity near Taiwan has evolved from sporadic actions into high-frequency, routine operations. Over the past five years, the number of sorties has risen from 380 in 2020 to 960 in 2021, 1,738 in 2022, 4,734 in 2023, 5,107 in 2024, and 5,709 in 2025.
The DPP said that the scale and tempo of these operations demonstrate that China has made the Taiwan Strait a core arena for its gray-zone operations. China is using them to test deterrence, deplete Taiwan’s defensive resources, and gradually push existing security boundaries outward.
The department also noted that in 2025, China conducted large-scale drills such as “Strait Thunder-A” and “Justice Mission 2025.” These exercises included joint operations, maritime and air blockades, and precision strikes, with training zones approaching Taiwan’s 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial sea and airspace.
“Such actions turn Beijing’s intentions toward Taiwan into concrete military plans, revealing its expansionist ambitions and posing a serious threat to peace in the Indo-Pacific region,” said the department.
