Taiwan Reports Chinese Military Activity Near Its Territory

Taipei: Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) detected seven Chinese military aircraft, six naval vessels, and one balloon around Taiwan between 9 am (local time) on Sunday to 6 am (local time) on Monday, Taiwan News reported.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, one of the seven People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, entered the southwest air defence identification zone (ADIZ). The aircraft was identified as an unmanned aerial vehicle that came within 170 km (92 NM) of Eluanbi, Taiwan News reported.

In a post on X, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence stated, "7 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected until 06:00 (UTC+8) today. one of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's SW ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and tasked appropriate forces to respond."

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defence said it monitored the situation with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. In response, Taiwan's MND said it scrambled combat patrol aircraft, dispatched naval vessels and deployed land-based air defence missile systems.

Furthermore, the MND said the Chinese balloon was detected 125 km (68 NM) southwest of Taichung at an altitude of 6,700 m (22,000 feet) at 7:27 pm (local time) on Sunday, Taiwan News reported.

The balloon flew in an easterly direction over northern Taiwan and disappeared at 8:52 pm (local time) on Sunday over the northern end of Taiwan's central mountain range, the report said. So far in January, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence has detected 282 Chinese military aircraft and 128 naval vessels.

Since 2020, China has increased the use of "gray zone tactics" in the form of deployment of military aircraft and naval vessels over the median line and inside Taiwan's ADIZ.

According to Taiwan News report, 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 resorting to direct and sizable use of force, according to CSIS.