Taiwan tracks 32 Chinese military aircraft, 5 navy vessels around nation

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defence (MND) monitored 32 Chinese military aircraft and five People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels from 6 a.m. on Wednesday (March 20) to the same time on Thursday (March 21).

Out of these 32 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 20 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwestern, southeastern, and eastern air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan's Armed Forces monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities in their region, the MND stated.

Yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense reportedly tracked 15 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels across Taiwan, between 6 am on Tuesday (March 19) and 6 am on Wednesday (March 20), Taiwan News reported.

Among the 15 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, six entered the southwest corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.

However, no PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line at that time, as reported by Taiwan News.

Responding to that, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the PLA activity.

Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by gradually increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan, according to Taiwan News.

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 resorting to direct and sizable use of force."

In a similar incident, the MND reported the tracking of ten Chinese naval vessels and nine military aircraft in the vicinity of Taiwan between 6 am on Monday and 6 am on Tuesday.

Among the nine People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one Chinese drone breached Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the southwest, while a PLA helicopter was monitored in the southeast sector of the ADIZ.