Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has reported the detection of 11 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels near Taiwan between 6 am on Monday and 6 am on Tuesday, as per Taiwan News.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, six of the 11 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, with one entering the southwest sector of Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ). Additionally, one helicopter was spotted in the southeast ADIZ.

Responding to this, Taiwan promptly dispatched aircraft, naval ships, and air defence missile systems to monitor the PLA activity, as reported by Taiwan News.

In an official announcement on X, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence detailed, "11 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 8 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's SW and eastern ADIZ."

On April 15, the Ministry disclosed that 18 Chinese military aircraft and 6 naval vessels had been detected operating around Taiwan by 6 am. Out of these, 11 aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, breaching Taiwan's southwest sector of the ADIZ.

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This month alone, Taiwan has monitored Chinese military aircraft 136 times and naval vessels 98 times. Since September 2020, China has notably increased its utilisation of grey zone tactics, steadily escalating the presence of military aircraft and naval ships around Taiwan.

Grey zone tactics, defined as strategic efforts beyond conventional deterrence and assurance, aim to achieve security objectives without direct and overt force.

In related developments, CNA Taiwan reported on April 14 that Taiwan's military is planning to establish a new combatant command by 2026. This command will be responsible for defending Taiwan's territorial waters extending 24 nautical miles from the country's shoreline. According to sources familiar with the matter, this new command, under the Naval Command Headquarters, will be led by a vice admiral and will integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance & Reconnaissance Command.

While the official launch could happen as early as 2026, further discussions are ongoing, and no final timeline has been announced yet.