According to Taiwan News, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of Taiwan declared on Monday that they had found two aircraft and five Chinese military vessels in the area of Taiwan between Sunday and Monday at six a.m. local time. According to the MND, Taiwan sent planes, naval vessels, and air defense missile systems to monitor People’s Liberation Army (PLA) activity in response to China’s action. No PLA aircraft entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) or crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that period, according to Taiwan’s MND, as reported by Taiwan News.
In a post on X, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence stated, “2 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and employed appropriate forces to respond.”
So far in February, Taiwan has detected 27 Chinese military aircraft and 19 naval ships. Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships that are functioning around Taiwan.
Gray zone tactics are “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,” Taiwan News reported.
Taiwan has taken similar action previously. The detection of seven PLA aircraft and four PLAN vessels operating in the vicinity of Taiwan was announced by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense on February 4. Interestingly, even though China has never ruled Taiwan, the Communist Party of China still regards it as its own territory. The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense wrote on X, “Up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today, 7 PLA aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were detected operating around Taiwan.” One of the planes entered Taiwan’s SW ADIZ after straddling the Taiwan Strait’s median line. #ROCArmedForces kept an eye on the circumstances and used the proper force to intervene.”
