Update: July 20, 4:47 p.m.: 

A total of 20 Chinese aircraft were detected from 7:22 a.m., with 15 crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entering the north, central, southwest, and eastern parts of Taiwan’s ADIZ while conducting joint combat patrol along with military vessels.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 22 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Friday (July 19) and the same time Saturday (July 20). 

Of the 22 People’s Liberation Army aircraft, 17 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s northern, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the defense ministry.

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

So far this month, the defense ministry has tracked Chinese military aircraft 447 times and ships 142 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels 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.”