(Taiwan). China has increased its military activities around Taipei, Taiwan for the past few months. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) informed on Friday that once again Beijing's army has tried to intrude into Taiwan's border.

The Taiwan MND said 30 Chinese military aircraft and nine naval ships were carrying out military activity near its territory at 6 am (local time) on Friday and 6 am (local time) on Saturday. Of the total aircraft, 23 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft entered Taiwan's southwestern and southeastern air defense identification zones (ADIZ).

Taiwan's response to China's military action

The Chinese military aircraft came within 72 kilometers of Eluanbi in the south and 77 kilometers of Keelung in the north, Taiwan News reported. In response to China's military action, Taiwan sent combat patrol aircraft and naval ships and deployed land-based air defense missile systems to monitor Beijing's activity, Taiwan News reported.

In a post on social media platform 'X', Taiwan's MND said, "As of 6 AM (local time) today, 30 PLA ​​aircraft and 9 naval ships were detected around Taiwan. 23 aircraft entered Taiwan's southwestern and southeastern ADIZ. The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC) has monitored the situation and responded accordingly."

Taiwan spotted Chinese ships 35 times

So far in July, Taiwan's MND has tracked Chinese military aircraft 131 times and naval ships 35 times. Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of 'grey zone tactics' by sending more military aircraft and naval ships near Taiwan.

According to CSIS, grey zone tactics are described as 'an effort or series of efforts that go beyond steady-state deterrence and reassurance that seeks to achieve one's security objectives without resorting to the direct and large-scale use of force.

This latest incident joins a series of similar provocations by China in recent months. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and military exercises near the island.

Taiwan has been governed independently from China since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.