China, since September 2020 has intensified the use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan.
The Ministry of National Defence of Taiwan detected six Chinese naval vessels, four coast guard ships, and two military aircraft around the nation between 6 a.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. on Sunday, reported Taiwan News.
On Saturday, the CGA's Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch said that coast guards began monitoring two suspicious vessels at 9:13 am (local time) on Wednesday, which took off from the direction of southeastern China's Xiamen city, which is near Taiwan's three outlying island groups.
The steel-cutting ceremony for the first Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV) was held at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai in the presence of Indian Coast Guard (lCG) officials on Friday.
The Ministry of National Defence of Taiwan tracked 38 Chinese military aircraft, seven naval vessels, and four coast guard ships surrounding Taiwan, between 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, and 6 a.m. on Thursday, reported Taiwan News.
Tom Shugart, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, highlighted the strategic implications of China's civilian vessels, suggesting they could significantly bolster the PLA's capacity to transport troops and equipment, potentially enabling the swift deployment of up to 300,000
China's Coast Guard ships have been in the waters surrounding Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea for a record 158 days, breaking the previous record established in 2021, reported CNN citing Tokyo's most recent count.
The Ministry for National Defence of Taiwan detected 13 Chinese military aircraft, five naval vessels, and four coast guard ships around Taiwan. This comes amid island's growing tensions with Beijing in recent times.