TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The defense ministry detected five Chinese military aircraft and nine vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, including one balloon and one official ship.

Two of the aircraft were reported to have entered the northern and southwestern areas of the country’s air defense identification zone, or ADIZ. In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor Chinese activity.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 204 times and ships 98 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. 

CSIS defines gray zone tactics 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.”