TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 20 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday (March 27) and 6 a.m. on Thursday (March 28). 

Of the 20 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, four crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the MND. Nine PLA aircraft entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), two flew into the northeast ADIZ, and one was tracked in the eastern sector of the zone.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor PLA activity. 

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 343 times and naval vessels 186 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan.

Gray zone tactics are defined as “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force.”