Taiwan MND: 29 Chinese aircraft sorties, 23 crossing the median line, and 6 PLA Navy ships around the island on 21 October

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on 21 October that it detected 29 sorties by aircraft of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), six PLA Navy ships and nine “official ships” operating around the island in the period from 6 a.m. on 20 October to 6 a.m. on 21 October, Taiwan time.

According to the ministry’s daily report, 23 of the 29 aircraft sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the northern, central, southwestern and eastern sectors. The ministry said Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the situation and responded with combat air patrol aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems.

The map attached to the report divides the air activity into three groups. The first, between 6 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., consisted of 19 sorties by fighter, bomber and support aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, 13 of which crossed the median line. The second, between 6 a.m. and 1.45 p.m., consisted of seven sorties by fighter and support aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. The third, between 9.55 a.m. and 1.50 p.m., consisted of three sorties by bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The count is more than double that of the previous daily report. For the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on 20 October, the MND counted 14 aircraft sorties, eight of them crossing the median line, together with seven PLA Navy ships and seven official ships. Geopolitiki covered that report here: Taiwan MND: 14 Chinese aircraft sorties, 8 crossing the median line, and 7 PLA Navy ships around the island on 20 October.

The reporting period overlaps with 20 October, when the ministry issued a separate statement saying it had detected 27 PLA aircraft sorties from 10.43 a.m., 21 of them crossing the median line, which it linked to what it called a “joint combat readiness patrol” and a “far-seas long voyage” by Chinese forces. That statement was reported here: Taiwan reports 27 Chinese military aircraft sorties, 21 crossing the median line, in a new “joint combat readiness patrol”. The daily report of 21 October does not itself refer to the patrol.

The figures are Taiwan’s own account of the activity. The daily report carries no comment from Beijing on the movements and does not say what the aircraft or ships were doing. The MND publishes the counts every day under the heading “PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan”, with a map of the air activity attached.

The original report is on the Taiwan MND website.