Taiwan On High Alert As Chinese Military Aircraft And Naval Ships Spotted In the Region

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) has detected seven Chinese military aircraft along with four naval vessels around Taiwan between local time 6 am on Tuesday and local time 6 am on Wednesday. Following Chinese action, Taiwan sent out its aircraft and naval vessels. It deployed its air defence missile systems to closely watch the People’s Liberation Army (abbreviated the PLA) activity, per Taiwan’s MND.

Per the Taiwanese MND, no PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line or entered Taiwan’s southwest air defence identification zone (ADIZ) during that time.

Until now, in January, Taiwan has been able to detect 298 military aircraft of China and 136 naval vessels. Since 2020 (September), China has reportedly intensified the use of its grey zone tactics by increasing military aircraft as well as maritime vessels incrementally to operate around Taiwan, per the report.

Taiwan News mentioned that the grey zone strategy is a series of efforts beyond the steady-state deterrence coupled with the assurance that trials achieve security objectives without resorting to sizable and direct use of forces.

In the meantime, on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Marine Corps did a maritime drill at the Zuoying Naval Base in Kaohsiung that featured a mine-laying vessel as well as a domestically built assault boat that executed naval surveillance as well as combat operations for simulating defending against a Chinese invasion, per a Focus Taiwan report that cited the Central News Agency (abbreviated the CNA).

According to the CNA report, the manoeuvres in the waters around Zuoying Harbour had been designed to examine the Marine Corps’ ability to recognize China’s military movements faster and their combat preparedness.

During this exercise, Taiwan’s Navy took an emergency departure from the harbour with a minelayer and M109 assault boat and executed several actions. This included surveillance and using drones and radar systems to warn battleship forces of approaching hostile forces, per the report.

Reference: TOI, The Print

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Source: Maritime Shipping News