TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 10 Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around the country between 6 a.m. on Monday (June 5) and 6 a.m. on Tuesday (June 6).

At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the MND said that of the 10 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft tracked around Taiwan, two crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered the southwest section of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

The aircraft tracked in the ADIZ included one Sukhoi Su-30 combat jet and one Kamov Ka-28 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter. The Su-30 fighter crossed the far northeastern sector of the median line, while the Ka-28 helicopter was detected deep inside the southwest section of the ADIZ.

The MND said it monitored the situation and responded by scrambling combat patrol aircraft, dispatching naval vessels, and deploying land-based air defense missile systems.

Since September 2020, Beijing has increasingly employed the use of "gray zone tactics" in the form of deployments of military aircraft and naval vessels over the median line and inside Taiwan's ADIZ. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force." 

Flight paths of Su-30 and Ka-28 in ADIZ. (MND image)