Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that it detected 7 Chinese military aircraft and 15 naval vessels between 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6 am (local time) on Sunday. According to the MND, of the 7 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 3 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered entered Taiwan’s northern and southeastern air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity. In a post on X, MND stated, “7 PLA aircraft and 15 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 3 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southeastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly.”

On Saturday, MND detected 13 Chinese military aircraft and 7 naval vessels. Further, 12 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern, and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

This latest incident adds to a series of similar provocations by China in recent months. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ and military exercises near the island.

Notably, Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked PLA aircraft 279 times and Chinese ships 150 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels 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.”