Taiwan says it tracked six Chinese naval vessels around country

Taipei: Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said it tracked six Chinese naval vessels operating around country from 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6 am (local time) on Sunday.
According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, Taiwanese armed forces have monitored the situation and deployed naval vessels and coastal systems in response to China's activities.
During that time, there were no Chinese military aircraft detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entering Taiwan's southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
In a statement, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence stated, "6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed Navy vessels and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities."
"Illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entering Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ during this timeframe," it added.
On April 6, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has said that it detected seven Chinese naval vessels and one aircraft around Taiwan between 6 am (local time) on Friday and 6 am (local time) on Saturday.
According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan's eastern air defence identification zone (ADIZ). In response, Taiwan deployed aircraft, naval ships and air defence missile systems to monitor China's activity.
In a post on X, Taiwan's MND stated, "1 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. The aircraft entered Taiwan's eastern ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and employed appropriate forces to respond."
Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of gray zone tactics by increasing the number of military planes and naval ships operating around Taiwan, Taiwan News reported. Gray zone tactics are "an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one's security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force," the report said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is reassessing its tourism goals in light of challenges in cross-strait travel, with Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui expressing concerns over a potential shortfall of 2 million foreign visitor arrivals this year, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Chou indicated that if China persists in its ban on group tourist visits to Taiwan, the tourism target may need to be adjusted downward to 10 million. While speaking to reporters, Chou said full recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels of 12 million visitors is not expected until 2025.
Taiwan has urged China to exhibit "goodwill" in both tourism and political spheres, hinting that such gestures could prompt Taiwan to reconsider its own ban on tour groups travelling to China, which was slated to lift in June, according to CNA.
Earlier in February, Taiwan reversed its decision to lift the three-year ban on group tourists bound for China, citing hostility from Beijing and the lack of Chinese tourist groups visiting Taiwan.