Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) on Friday morning reported a significant increase in Chinese military activity near its territorial waters, including 16 sorties of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, eight PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) vessels, and one official ship.
According to a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), seven of the 16 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s northern and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
“16 sorties of PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 7 out of 16 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded,” Taiwan’s MND stated.
This escalation follows a similar report on Thursday, when the MND detected eight PLAN ships and one official Chinese vessel near Taiwanese waters. Notably, no aircraft incursions were recorded during that timeframe.
Additionally, Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed China launched satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) at 01:31 (UTC+8) on Thursday. The satellite flight path passed over central Taiwan toward the Western Pacific, but the altitude was beyond the atmosphere, posing no direct threat. The ROC Armed Forces tracked the trajectory and maintained a state of readiness.
On the maritime front, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) announced on Wednesday that it had “ejected” four Chinese Coast Guard ships after they entered Taiwan-controlled waters near Kinmen County. The Chinese ships—numbered 14603, 14608, 14609, and 14513—approached restricted waters near Liaoluo Bay and Damao Mountain around 8:50 am.
The CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch said this was the second incursion in two days by the same vessels, which on Tuesday had also entered Taiwan’s jurisdiction and lingered for over two hours before withdrawing.
These repeated military and coast guard activities have heightened cross-strait tensions, with Taipei continuing to closely monitor and respond to what it describes as provocative actions undermining regional stability.