TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked five Chinese naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday and 6 a.m. on Thursday. 

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor People’s Liberation Army activity, according to the MND.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 355 times and ships 249 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.”