Photo released on June 30, 2025 shows the deployment of carrier-based aircraft on the deck of the Shandong aircraft carrier. The Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carrier formations of the PLA Navy recently wrapped up far seas combat training in the Western Pacific, the PLA Navy announced on June 30. Photo: Xinhua

The Taiwan region's so-called "National Security Bureau" is scheduled to attend a meeting of the island's "defense committee" on Wednesday to present a special report on what it calls an analysis of "potential military conflict hotspots across the Taiwan Straits and surrounding areas." Taiwan media on Monday disclosed details of the report, which claims that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted nearly 3,600 sorties by military aircraft around the island of Taiwan this year, a record high.

According to the report cited by local media on Monday, various types of PLA aircraft entered airspace around the Taiwan island more than 3,570 times as of Monday, marking a historical high. It further alleged that the PLA carried out 39 "joint sea-air combat readiness patrols", aimed at testing the island's early-warning and response mechanisms and assessing what it described as "battlefield management" in the Taiwan Straits.

The report also claimed that China Coast Guard vessels entered the waters near Kinmen designated by the DPP authorities as "restricted waters" for formation patrols about four times per month—except in October—and have intermittently entered waters near Dongsha since February. 

It further alleged that on December 6, three mainland public service vessels sailed in waters west of the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line." conducting law enforcement and search-and-rescue drills. The report went on to groundlessly accuse the PLA of "provoking" the US and Japan in the maritime and air domains, and cited training activities by dual aircraft carrier formations led by the Liaoning and Shandong in the western Pacific in May and June.

Since the beginning of 2025, military authority and media outlets on the island have closely followed and repeatedly reported on PLA aircraft and vessel activities around Taiwan island, with coverage appearing almost every month. Local media reported that sustained PLA aircraft flights have left Taiwan island's military stretched thin. In April, a two-seat fighter jet from the island's "air force" "Tianju Unit" stationed in Penghu reportedly suffered a tire blowout and landing gear failure due to a suspected system malfunction while landing at Penghu Airport, leaving the aircraft stranded and forcing the airport's main runway to close for three hours. The same aircraft had also caused a runway closure on April 10 due to a tire blowout, the report said.

Responding to hype over PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan island, Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said previously that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and that there is no such thing as a so-called "median line" in the Taiwan Straits. He stressed that it is entirely justified, reasonable and lawful for the PLA to conduct military activities in areas surrounding the island of Taiwan.

Jiang noted that claims by the DPP authorities that they have the situation "fully under control" amount to self-deception. "As long as the poisonous tumor of 'Taiwan independence' remains, the PLA's actions to counter secessionist activities and promote reunification will not stop for a moment," he said.