Taiwan tracks 14 Chinese military aircraft, 8 naval ships around nation

Taiwan sent aircraft, naval ships, and deployed missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 14 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Tuesday (March 5) and 6 a.m. on Wednesday (March 6).

Of the 14 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, none crossed the Taiwan Strait median line or entered the southwest corner of the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.

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

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 72 times and naval vessels 35 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.

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.”