The Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan (MND) said that these Chinese vessels and aircraft were under surveillance from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday. In response Taiwan deployed its own aircraft and naval ships, along with air defense missile systems, to closely observe the activities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), it added.
During this period, no PLA aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan had detected eight Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels in the vicinity, and on Friday, there were five Chinese naval vessels and four military aircraft spotted.
Taiwan had tracked a total of 359 Chinese military aircraft and 204 naval vessels in the month of March alone.
Since September 2020, China has been employing gray zone tactics, gradually increasing the presence of military aircraft and naval ships near Taiwan. Gray zone tactics are described 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,” Taiwan News reported.
Additionally, Taiwan’s military expressed concerns about Chinese netizens using drones to film the outlying island of Erdan near Kinmen on Saturday.
Expand
There were rumors online indicating that unmanned aerial vehicles were capturing footage of military activities on the Taiwanese-held island, visible from the Chinese city of Xiamen.
The Kinmen Defense Command said that appropriate actions would be taken based on the threat level posed by these drones. The military blamed the provocative behavior of some Chinese netizens, warning that such actions could potentially escalate into a serious incident.
(With inputs from agencies)
Tags: Taiwan monitors Chinese naval vessels military aircraft deploys forces response
