Eric Chang
Monday May 5, 2025

Chinese Z-9 ASW helicopter. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

The Ministry of National Defense tracked eight Chinese naval vessels and six military aircraft around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday.

Four of the six People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the nation’s northern, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone, according to the MND.

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

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 26 times and ships 32 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.”