Taiwan tracks 25 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 25 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Monday (Feb. 6) and 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Of the 25 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 10 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, three entered the country’s northeast air defense identification zone (ADIZ), and three were tracked in the southwest ADIZ, according to the MND.

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

One Chinese balloon crossing the Taiwan Strait median line was also tracked at 8:31 a.m. on Monday 174 km (94 NM) west of Keelung. It traveled northeast and disappeared at 9:23 a.m.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked 52 Chinese military aircraft and 25 naval ships. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships 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.”