Taiwan tracks 6 Chinese military aircraft, six naval vessels

The Ministry of National Defence of Taiwan tracked six Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 am. on Thursday (April 18) and 6 a.m. on Friday (April 19), reported Taiwan News.

As per the MND, out of the six PLA aircraft, four of them crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the southwest area of the nation’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), while one of them crossed the line in the northeast ADIZ.

Taiwan responded by monitoring the PLA operations with planes, naval ships, and air defence missile systems. Taiwan has detected 110 Chinese naval vessels and 164 Chinese military aircraft so far this month, reported Taiwan News.

China has been using grey zone tactics more frequently since September 2020, gradually expanding the number of military planes and navy vessels in the Taiwan area.

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.”