Taiwan detects 15 Chinese aircraft and eight naval ships

Taipei: Up to 6 a.m. (local time) on Saturday, 15 Chinese military aircraft, eight navy ships, and four government ships were seen operating in the Taiwan area, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND).

According to Taiwan’s MND, 11 of the 15 PLA aircraft reached the country’s northern, southwestern, and eastern Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) after crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line.

Taiwan responded to China’s move by deploying coastal-based missile systems, sending navy ships and airplanes, and keeping an eye on PLA operations.

The MND shared a post on X that said, “Up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today, we detected 15 PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels, and 4 official ships operating around Taiwan.” Eleven of the planes entered Taiwan’s northern and southern ADIZ after crossing the median line. We have kept an eye on the issue and taken appropriate action.

According to MND, until 6 a.m. (local time) on Friday, 16 Chinese military planes, 13 navy ships, and two government ships were seen operating in the Taiwan area.

Taiwan has identified 50 Chinese ships and 71 Chinese military planes so far in December. China has increased the number of military planes and navy ships around Taiwan since September 2020 in an effort to use gray zone tactics.

Strategies for gray zones are “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.”
As Beijing continues to establish its claims over the island, this episode is part of a recent trend of China’s more aggressive maneuvers surrounding Taiwan, which raises worries about regional stability.

The Taipei Times reported that Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized China’s meddling in other democratic countries’ diplomatic relations earlier on December 3, calling it “regrettable” that Beijing frequently engages in “provocative actions” because it does not understand the typical diplomatic behaviors between democratic countries.