Taiwan tracks 10 Chinese ships around nation

台灣追蹤10艘中國船隻

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked nine Chinese naval vessels and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. on Sunday.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor People’s Liberation Army activity, according to the MND. No PLA aircraft were tracked during that time.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 153 times and ships 47 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating around Taiwan.

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.”