Taiwan’s Defence Ministry tracks 9 Chinese military aircraft, 5 naval ships around nation

Taipei [Taiwan], March 18 (ANI): The Taiwan Ministry of National Defence (MND) tracked nine Chinese military aircraft and five naval ships around Taiwan from 6 am on Sunday (March 17) to the same time on Monday (March 18), Taiwan News reported.

Among the nine People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one Chinese drone crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the southwest corner of the country’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), the Ministry of National Defence said.

Moreover, two other planes also flew into the southwest sector of the ADIZ, reported Taiwan News.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defence missile systems to oversee the PLA’s activity.

Reportedly, this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 185 times and naval vessels 113 times.

On March 16, the MND monitored 10 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels encircling Taiwan from 6 am on Friday (March 15) to the same time on Saturday (March 16), as reported by Taiwan News.

Among the 10 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, six entered the southwest and eastern sectors of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), as reported by the MND.

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

The 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,” according to Taiwan News.