TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 10 Chinese naval vessels, six military aircraft, and two official ships around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday and 6 a.m. on Friday. 

Four of the six People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s 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, the defense ministry has tracked Chinese military aircraft 128 times and ships 206 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.”