Taiwan spots 21 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval vessels in its space

NEW DELHI: Taiwan spotted 21 Chinese military aircraft and 6 naval vessels operating around it between 6 am (local time) on Saturday and 6 am (local time) on Sunday, the national defence ministry informed.
In a post on X, the ministry said, “21 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. today. 10 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s SW ADIZ.”

The ministry further said that the ROC Armed forces “have monitored the situation and employed appropriate forces to respond.”
Following China’s action, Taiwan sent planes and navy ships, as well as air defense missiles, to monitor PLA activity, Taiwan News reported.
This comes a day after Taiwan spotted nine Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around it.
So far in March, Taiwan has detected 30 Chinese military planes and 14 navy vessels.
The increased presence of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Taiwan comes as China intensified its use of gray zone tactics around Taiwan since 2020, raising the number of military aircraft and navy ships operating around it, the Taiwan News reported.
The report further added that gray zone tactics are “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”.