Taiwan MND reports no Chinese military aircraft, but 6 PLA Navy ships and 7 official ships around the island on 22 October

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on 22 October that it detected no aircraft of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) around the island in the period from 6 a.m. on 21 October to 6 a.m. on 22 October, Taiwan time. The ministry did report six PLA Navy ships and seven “official ships” operating around Taiwan as of 6 a.m. on 22 October.

According to the ministry’s daily report, Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the situation and employed combat air patrol aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activity. Because no PLA aircraft were detected during the period, the ministry did not provide the illustration of flight paths that normally accompanies the report.

The report follows a period of much higher air activity. In the daily report issued on 21 October, the ministry counted 29 aircraft sorties, 23 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, together with six PLA Navy ships and nine official ships. Geopolitiki covered that report here: Taiwan MND: 29 Chinese aircraft sorties, 23 crossing the median line, and 6 PLA Navy ships around the island on 21 October.

On 20 October the ministry also 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 described as taking place under the pretext of a so-called “joint combat readiness patrol” and “long-range flight training”, coordinated with PLA Navy vessels. 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 figures are Taiwan’s own account of the activity. The daily report does not say what the ships were doing, does not describe what the “official ships” are, and carries no comment from Beijing. The ministry publishes the counts every day under the heading “PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan”.

The original report is on the Taiwan MND website.