Taiwan tracks Chinese military aircraft, naval ships

Taipei [Taiwan], July 17 (ANI): Taiwan on Monday tracked 11 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around the country, Taiwan News reported citing the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

The Chinese aircraft and naval vessels were tracked between 6 a.m. on Sunday (July 16) and 6 a.m. on Monday (July 17).
According to the MND, Taiwan responded by sending aircraft, naval ships, and land-based missile systems to monitor People’s Liberation Army (PLA) activity.

However, during that time, no PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) or crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that time, Taiwan News reported.

In the latest instance, Taiwan detected the highest number of navy vessels around the country in a single day “in recent times,” yesterday (July 16) reported Taiwan News.

According to the Ministry of National Defence (MND), sixteen navy vessels and fifteen Chinese military aircraft were detected in the vicinity of Taiwan.

Taiwan News quoted Duan Dang, a freelance writer working in Vietnam, as saying that 16 People’s Liberation Army Navy shifts were spotted around Taiwan in a single day “in recent times.” There were 14 vessels when US Houses Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to Taiwan in 2022.

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

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 News reported.