TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked seven Chinese military aircraft, six naval vessels, and one balloon around the country between 9 a.m. Sunday (Jan. 28) and 6 a.m. Monday (Jan. 29).
The defense ministry said that of the seven People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, One entered the southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ). The aircraft was identified as an unmanned aerial vehicle, which came within 170 km (92 NM) of Eluanbi.138 km (75) NM of Eluanbi.
The MND said it monitored the situation with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system. In response, it scrambled combat patrol aircraft, dispatched naval vessels, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems.
In addition, the MND said the Chinese balloon was detected the ADIZ at 7:27 p.m. on Sunday 125 km (68 NM) southwest of Taichung at an altitude of 6,700 m (22,000 feet)
The balloon flew in an easterly direction over northern Taiwan, disappearing at 8:52 p.m. on Sunday over the northern end of the country's central mountain range.
Thus far in January, the MND has detected 282 Chinese military aircraft and 128 naval vessels. 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 CSIS, 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."
(MND image)
