Taiwan Detects Heightened Chinese Naval, And Air Force Activity Near Its Territory; Here's All About It

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported detecting seven Chinese naval vessels and five Chinese military aircraft operating around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on Sunday to 6 am (local time) on Monday (25 March), according to a report from The Economic Times.

During this period, one of the PLA aircraft entered Taiwan's Southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Taiwan's armed forces monitored the situation and deployed appropriate forces in response.

On 24 March, Taiwan's MND observed an increase in Chinese military presence, with eight Chinese naval vessels and six military aircraft detected around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on 23 March to 6 am (local time) on 24 March.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence stated, "6 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 am (UTC+8) today. One of the aircraft entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities."

Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 301 times and naval vessels 165 times so far this month.

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

Grey zone tactics are described 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."