Decoding PLA moves around Taiwan: 3 categories, 3 levels of signalling?

Last Updated on June 21, 2025 9:55 pm

By Amber Wangin Beijing

Manoeuvres around Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army have become a routine affair, but their tempo and intensity have steadily increased in recent years.
What were occasional sorties before 2020 have evolved into a well-coordinated campaign designed not only for combat training but also for strategic signalling.

But not all PLA operations around Taiwan are the same. They fall into three main categories: near-daily aerial patrols, combat-readiness patrols, and large-scale joint forces exercises – each varying in scale, intensity and purpose.

So what kind of signals do each of these send?

PLA Air Force sorties around Taiwan have been carried out on an almost daily basis since 2021, with a sharp increase in numbers observed since 2024, after Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te assumed office.

According to PLATracker, an open-source database based on Taiwanese defence ministry reports, fewer than 20 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in 2019.

Source : SCMP