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

Twenty of the 27 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the country’s southwestern air defense identification zone, according to the MND. One Chinese balloon was also tracked over central Taiwan. 

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

So far this month, the MND has tracked Chinese military aircraft 242 times and ships 156 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.”