Taiwan deploys forces after tracking Chinese military aircraft, naval ships circling it
Mar 14, 2024
Taipei [Taiwan], March 14 : Taiwan dispatched aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the activities of Chinese military planes and naval vessels that encircled it, the defence ministry of the island country said on Thursday, as cited by Taiwan News.
The Ministry of National Defence (MND) of Taiwan reported monitoring 26 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels encircling the nation from 6 am on Wednesday to 6 am on Thursday, Taiwan News reported.
Seven Chinese military aircraft breached the median of the Taiwan Strait, the country's Defence Ministry said today.
Additionally, the MND tracked 10 aircraft in the southwest corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), three in the northeast ADIZ, and one in the southern ADIZ, as per Taiwan News.
According to Taiwan News, this incident marks the latest in a series of provocations, with Taiwan having tracked Chinese military aircraft 151 times and naval vessels 85 times this month alone.
Since September 2020, China has been increasingly employed gray zone tactics, gradually escalating the presence of military assets 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 resorting to direct and sizable use of force."
Earlier, On March 9, Taiwan's MND reported tracking nine Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around the nation
"Among the nine People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, four breached the median line of the Taiwan strait, entering the southwestern and northern corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), as per the MND."
According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwan dispatched aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defence missile systems to closely monitor the PLA's activities."
