TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 13 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around the country between 6 a.m. on Friday (June 16) and 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 17).
The aircraft that was identified as entering the northeast sector of Taiwan's ADIZ was a Xi'an JH-7 fighter-bomber, also known as the Flying Leopard. The warplane was detected flying south just off the northeast tip of the median line before turning back to the north.
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 path of fighter-bomber. (MND image)