Taiwan tracks 12 Chinese military aircraft, 9 naval ships

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 12 Chinese military aircraft and nine naval vessels around Taiwan between

Of the 12 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, six crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the nation’s central, southwestern, and southeastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked PLA aircraft 92 times and Chinese ships 54 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.”