Taipei [Taiwan], July 17 (ANI): Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) tracked 20 Chinese military aircraft and six naval ships around the island.

As per a statement by the MND, the Chinese aircraft and vessels were spotted from Tuesday 6 am to Wednesday 6 pm, according to Taiwan News.

According to Taiwan's MND, of the 20 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 13 had crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the northern central, southwestern, and eastern sectors of the country's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan responded by sending aircraft and naval ships and deploying coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity, as reported by Taiwan News.

In this month alone, the MND has so far tracked Chinese military aircraft 388 times and naval ships 119 times.

Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating around Taiwan, reported Taiwan News.

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 resort to direct and sizable use of force."On Tuesday, Taiwan's Ministry reported a significant surge in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) activity near its airspace, with a total of 18 PLA aircraft, 6 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, and 1 official ship detected as of 6 am (UTC8).

According to official statements released on Tuesday, 8 of the detected aircraft crossed into Taiwan's southwestern and eastern Air Defence Identification Zones (ADIZ), breaching the median line that typically separates Taiwanese and Chinese-controlled airspace.

The incursion marks a notable escalation in cross-strait tensions, with Taiwan responding to the PLA's activities by deploying appropriate measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and airspace.

In recent years, Taiwan has increasingly faced military manoeuvres and provocations from Beijing, which views the island as a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.

Taiwan has been governed independently of China since 1949. However, Beijing considers the island part of its territory and insists on its eventual reunification, by force if necessary. (ANI)