TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked 26 Chinese military aircraft, seven naval vessels, and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday.

The ministry said 24 of the 26 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern air defense identification zone, or ADIZ.

Eleven sorties were detected in the northern sector of the ADIZ, with nine crossing the median line. In the southwestern sector, 15 sorties were detected, with all crossing the median line.

The ministry monitored the situation, dispatched aircraft and naval vessels, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems in response.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 463 times and ships 191 times. Since September 2020, Beijing has increased its use of “gray zone tactics” by operating military aircraft and naval vessels around Taiwan.

According to CSIS, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force.”