Taiwan tracks 25 Chinese military aircraft, 8 naval ships around island

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) of Taiwan tracked 25 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around the island between 6 a.m. (GMT+8) on Wednesday (Nov. 22) and 6 a.m. on Thursday (Nov. 23), Report informs via Taiwan News.

Of the 25 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 12 were tracked in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), including six Chengdu J-10 combat jets and two Shenyang J-16 jet fighters that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the MND. One Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane and one Shaanxi Y-9 aircraft entered the southwest corner of the ADIZ, while two Xian H-6 bombers flew along the southern sector of the zone.

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

So far this month, Beijing has sent 277 military aircraft and 132 naval ships around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around the island.

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.”