TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked nine Chinese military aircraft, 12 naval vessels, and two official ships around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday and 6 a.m. on Friday.
Six of the nine People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s 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 111 times and ships 170 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.”
