Taiwan tracks 25 Chinese military planes, 4 naval ships around country

25 Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels were tracked by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) between Monday and Tuesday, according to Taiwan News.

The Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels were tracked from 6 am on Monday, July 24 to 6 am on Tuesday, July 25.

“25 PLA aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities,” the MND said on Tuesday.

Of the 25 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 10 were tracked in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), including one TB-001 reconnaissance drone that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and flew along the southern portion of the ADIZ, according to the MND.

Meanwhile, four Shenyang J-16 combat jets, two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets, one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control plane, one Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, and one CH-4 reconnaissance drone were tracked in the southwest corner of the identification zone.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, and naval ships, and used land-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

So far this month, Beijing has sent 393 military aircraft and 156 naval ship sorties around Taiwan. 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 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.”

Earlier on Saturday, 37 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels were tracked by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) sent between Friday and Saturday, according to Taiwan News. Of the detected aircraft, 22 crossed the median line or entered the southwest, south, southeast, and east sections of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), Taiwan News reported.