TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 13 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Friday (July 7) and 6 a.m. on Saturday (July 8).

Of the 13 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, four crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. These included two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets in the north, and a Harbin BZK-005 drone and a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane which entered the southwest sector of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). 

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, naval ships, and used land-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

So far this month, Beijing has sent 98 military aircraft and 36 naval ships around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan.



Flight paths of PLA aircraft. (MND image)