Taiwan tracks 8 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships on election day

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has tracked eight Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 am on Friday and the same time on Saturday, the date for the presidential election, Taiwan News reported.

According to MND, of the eight People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane entered the southwest corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ). No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that time.

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

China has since September 2020, increased its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan, as per Taiwan News,

Grey 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."

Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jaushieh Joseph Wu, on Friday called on the global community to be aware of and thwart China's attempts to intervene in the democratic nations' elections, a local weekly newspaper reported.

Speaking in Taipei City during a pre-election media briefing for international journalists ahead of the presidential and legislative elections, Minister Wu highlighted the urgency of recognising and preventing China's interference tactics, according to Taiwan Today.

The minister warned that China is using Taiwan as a testing ground for election intervention and explained China's various interference tactics.

He cited examples, emphasising China's reliance on mixed methods such as military threats, political propaganda, economic coercion, and cyber and disinformation warfare. The objective is to manipulate public opinion, framing elections as a choice between war, peace and prosperity.