Is looming Xi-Trump summit behind the PLA’s break in air sorties near Taiwan?

Over six consecutive days since Friday, for the first time in at least three years, Beijing dispatched no warplanes near Taiwan, a pause which analysts say reflects deliberate caution ahead of this month’s Xi–Trump summit.

The absence of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft near the self-ruled island from Friday through to Wednesday is the longest such pause in the past three years, according to Taiwanese defence ministry data compiled by the South China Morning Post.

The number of PLA naval vessels detected in the same period by Taipei, however, remained in line with previous levels at between five and seven, the data showed.

While it has become a norm for PLA warplanes to manoeuvre near Taiwan on an almost daily basis, the ministry recorded none over a total of 11 days in February, including a three-day stretch from February 16 to 18 around Chinese New Year.

It was the first time since 2024 that PLA warplanes did not fly during the three days from the eve of the new year to the second day of the lunar calendar.

Analysts said the restraint contrasted with Beijing’s strategic pattern of recent years and may be linked to the coming meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

South China Morning Post