Taiwan Detects 7 Chinese Naval Ships, 5 Military Aircraft Across the Country

Taipei [Taiwan], March 25 : The Taiwan Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that it detected seven Chinese naval vessels and five Chinese military aircraft operating around the nation from 6 am (local time) on Sunday to 6 am (local time) on Monday, Taiwan News reported. According to Taiwan's MND, one of the PLA aircraft entered Taiwan's Southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Taiwan's armed forces have monitored the situation and deployed appropriate forces to respond. On March 24, Taiwan's defence ministry seems to have witnessed an increase in Chinese military presence around the nation with the MND detecting eight Chinese naval vessels and six Chinese military aircraft operating around the nation from 6 am (local time) on March 23 to 6 am (local time), as per Taiwan News.

In a statement, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence stated, "6 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 of the aircraft entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities." According to Taiwan News, so far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 301 times and naval vessels 165 times. 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.

Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of gray zone tactics by increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan, Taiwan News reported. Notably, Gray zone tactics are described 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."