Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has said nine Chinese naval vessels and eight military aircraft were tracked around the region between 6 a.m. on Sunday (Aug. 18) and 6 a.m. on Monday, media reports said.

Of the eight People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, four crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country’s central, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND as quoted by Focus Taiwan.

Taiwan responded and sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked PLA aircraft 294 times and Chinese ships 174 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating around Taiwan, reported Focus Taiwan.

What is the basis of China’s claim over Taiwan?

The basis of China’s claim over Taiwan dates back to 1945 when Japan lost its control over the island in 1945,post-World War Two.

The 1949 Chinese civil war led to communists taking control and Chiang Kai-shek the one who lost fled to Taiwan. He ruled it for many decades. This is where China’s claim to Taiwan emanates.

The very fact that Chiang Kai-shek came to Taiwan and was not indigenous to the place is Taiwan’s argument against the claim.

Why is Taiwan important to China?

“A lot of things actually, which of course are related to Taiwan but not necessarily direct to Taiwan. It's more about (China's) relationship changing with the United States – or we should say Western Countries, mainly the United States and China. Taiwan then happens to become a key player and main actor in this dynamics,” said Alice.

100 miles from the coast of China, Taiwan is an island, that is located in the “first island chain,” this positioning makes it crucial to the US foreign policy.

US-Sino relations hinge on, ‘One China Policy,’ it acknowledges that, “there is only one Chinese Government." The US recognises its formal ties with China. With Taiwan the US shares independent strong “unofficial” relations.