Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said on Tuesday it had detected five sorties of People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, eight People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and seven Chinese official ships operating around the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m.
Among them, three of the five aircraft sorties entered Taiwan's northern and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
"5 sortie of PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 7 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 3 out of 5 sortie entered Taiwan's northern and eastern part ADIZ," the ministry said in a post on X.
5 sortie of PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 7 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 3 out of 5 sortie entered Taiwan's northern and eastern part ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded. pic.twitter.com/JEt03jCSEf
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) ???????? (@MoNDefense) August 18, 2026
It added that the armed forces had "monitored the situation and responded."
An accompanying map published by the ministry showed the detected fighter and helicopter sorties clustered near Kinmen and the waters north and east of Taiwan, with activity recorded between 9 a.m. on August 17 and 6 a.m. on August 18.
Taiwan's defence ministry has published near-daily updates on PLA aircraft and naval activity around the island since 2020, tracking sorties that enter or approach its self-declared ADIZ, an early-warning zone that extends beyond Taiwan's sovereign airspace.
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Such reports have become a routine feature of cross-strait relations, with incursions numbering in the thousands annually in recent years, though the frequency and intensity have fluctuated with political developments, including visits by foreign officials and Taiwanese elections.
Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control, while Taipei maintains that only its people can decide the island's future.
In response to Chinese sorties, Taiwan's armed forces typically scramble combat air patrol aircraft, deploy naval vessels and activate coastal missile systems to monitor and respond to activity, as reiterated in Tuesday's report.
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