TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 23 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday (June 12) and 6 a.m. on Thursday (June 13). 

Of the 23 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 19 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the country’s eastern and southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor the PLA activity. 

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 132 times and naval/coast guard vessels 109 times. Since September 2020, China has ramped up 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.”