TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 19 Chinese naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Monday and 6 a.m. on Tuesday. 

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

On Tuesday, China said it launched joint army, navy, and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to “serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence,” Reuters reported.

“The focus is on exercises such as combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes,” China’s Eastern Theater Command said on Chinese social media, per Reuters. 

Last month, the MND tracked Chinese military aircraft 409 times and ships 270 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.”