Taiwan detects ten Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels across the country

Taipei (Taiwan), April 22: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense detected 10 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels between 6 a.m. Sunday, April 21, and 6 a.m. Monday, April 22, Taiwan News reported.

According to the Ministry of Defense, eight out of 10 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

In retaliation, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval vessels and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

Since September 2020, China has stepped up its use of gray zone tactics by gradually increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan, Taiwan News reported.

Gray Zone tactics are defined as “an effort or set of efforts that goes beyond stable deterrence and assurance and that seeks to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and extensive use of force.”

Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 203 times and naval ships 131 times so far this month.

It should be noted that tensions exist amid the dispute between Taiwan and China over the waters around Kinmen. China repeatedly enters the waters around Taiwan-occupied Kinmen, Taiwan News reported in March.

The boundaries for Kinmen Island were established by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense in 1992, according to news reports from Taiwan in February.

Although Beijing does not recognize Taiwan’s territorial claims (as it claims Taiwan as its own territory), Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) argues that China has tacitly adhered to the borders, so denying them now represents a change in the status quo entails.

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