TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked five Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Friday (June 9) and 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 10).

Of the five People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one Ka-28 anti-submarine warfare helicopter entered the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, naval ships, and used land-based missiles to monitor PLA activity.

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 path of PLA aircraft. (MND image)