TAIPEI: The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked seven Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday (May 24) and 6 a.m. on Thursday (May 25).
Of the seven People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, two were monitored in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that time.
One Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of the ADIZ, while one Harbin Z-9 anti-submarine warfare helicopter was monitored in the southeast corner of the zone. In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, naval ships, and used land-based missiles to monitor PLA activity.
So far this month, Beijing has sent 242 military aircraft and 99 naval vessels 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 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.”
