China flies 16 jets near Taiwan

Taiwan’s defence ministry said on May 23 it detected 16 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels operating around the island in the previous 24 hours. The ministry said 13 of the 16 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defence identification zone. Taiwan said its armed forces monitored the activity and responded with combat air patrol aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems. The latest report extended a run of near-daily Chinese military activity around Taiwan that Taipei publishes through its air force command. ### Where were the Chinese aircraft flying? The Ministry of National Defense said the aircraft were detected from 6 a.m. on May 22 to 6 a.m. on May 23, Taiwan time. Its English-language daily bulletin said 13 of the 16 sorties crossed the median line, a once-observed buffer in the Taiwan Strait that Chinese aircraft now cross regularly. Taiwan’s military said the aircraft entered four sectors of its air defence identification zone — northern, central, southwestern and eastern. The same bulletin said eight People’s Liberation Army Navy ships were also operating around Taiwan during the same period. ### Why does the median-line crossing matter? The median line is not a formal international boundary, but it has long served as a practical dividing line in the strait. Taiwan’s defence ministry uses crossings of that line as a marker of pressure because they bring Chinese aircraft closer to the island and force Taiwan to track and answer the activity. Taiwan News, citing the ministry’s data, said the May 23 operation brought the month’s running total to 186 Chinese military aircraft and 174 naval vessels detected around Taiwan so far in May. The outlet said China has expanded what Taipei describes as “gray zone tactics” since September 2020 by steadily increasing the number of aircraft and ships near the island. ### Was this part of a larger Chinese drill? Focus Taiwan reported on May 19 that Taiwan’s military had released surveillance images in a rare public disclosure after China conducted a joint air-sea exercise near the island. The report said the People’s Liberation Army had begun what it called a “joint combat readiness patrol” in Taiwan’s vicinity that morning. Taipei has not described the May 23 activity as a new large-scale exercise. The defence ministry’s public language instead treated it as part of its daily accounting of PLA movements, while still noting the breadth of the airspace entered by the Chinese aircraft. ### How did Taiwan respond? Taiwan’s defence ministry said the armed forces “monitored the situation” and used combat air patrol aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems in response. That is the standard wording Taipei uses in its daily bulletins when Chinese aircraft or ships approach the island. The ministry did not identify the aircraft types in the English summary for May 23. It also did not report any live-fire exchange or any aircraft entering Taiwan’s territorial airspace. ### What happens next? Taiwan’s air force command posts updated PLA activity bulletins on its public website, usually with a date-specific breakdown of aircraft and ship movements. The next update from the defence ministry will show whether the May 23 count was followed by another similar operation, and whether Chinese aircraft again crossed the median line.