Living on the edge: Taiwan’s new normal as Chinese warplanes shadow its skies

Taiwan has reported on Saturday that at least 17 People Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft sorties and 7 naval vessels are operating in waters surrounding the island, among them 8 sorties have crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered into the southwestern ADIZ. On Friday, Tariwan detected 26 aircraft sorties and 7 navy vessels and one official ship near its territory.

These incursions in Taiwan were reported just days after it concluded its largest-ever Han Kuang military exercises, which wrapped up on July 18. On July 16, the PLA was detected crossing the median line with 45 aircraft sorties. This recent spike in July is a part of ongoing Chinese military pressure around Taiwan during the drills. This continuous violation of the “grey zone” is a tactic China has been employing for a long time to increase pressure without directly engaging in a conflict.

This is a new normal for Taiwan. The democracy is constantly learning to live under the radar of the People's Liberation Army unflinchingly. It is trying to adapt; the recent Han Kuang military drill tried to adapt scenarios of Chinese invasion, from emergency alerts to evacuation and retaliation.

Beijing has maintained a goal of reunification of ‘One China’ since the Republic of China officials fled with the 1949 civil war and the rise of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) led by Mao Zedong. Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) maintains an independent, political and economic system with strong public support and continues its sovereignty under tremendous surveillance and external pressure.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has reportedly asserted that Taiwan will not be intimidated and will continue to safeguard its democratic way, ‘Peace through strength’.

The US consider Taiwan its key ally in Southeast Asia and have recently passed a bill called the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, designed to discourage military action by China by revealing the corruption of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. It allows the Treasury Secretary officials to block CCP officials from accessing funds held in U.S. financial institutions. In the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultation 2025 in Sydney, US and Australian officials reaffirmed the need for peace and stability in the region and opposition to any unilateral changes of the status quo.