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Athens · Monday, 26 October 2026

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Two Republic of China Navy Cheng Kung-class frigates at sea

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan MND: 3 Chinese aircraft sorties, 1 crossing the median line, and 6 PLA Navy ships around the island on 26 October

Taiwan’s defence ministry reported three PLA aircraft sorties, six PLA Navy ships and nine official ships in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on 26 October, after two days with no aircraft.

GEOPOLITIKI GEOPOLITIKINewsroom
2 min read

Photo: ROC Navy / Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan, archive image of Cheng Kung-class frigates (2005). Illustrative image, not from the 26 October report

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on 26 October that it detected three aircraft sorties by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), six PLA Navy ships and nine “official ships” around the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. that day, Taiwan time.

According to the ministry’s daily report, which covers the period from 6 a.m. on 25 October, one of the three aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the southwestern and eastern sectors. The ministry said Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the activity and responded with mission aircraft, ships and coastal missile systems. The report is Taiwan’s own account; it carries no comment from Beijing on the movements.

The count marks the return of PLA aircraft to the MND’s daily tally after two reports with none. In the report for 6 a.m. on 23 October to 6 a.m. on 24 October, the ministry said it detected no PLA aircraft, one PLA Navy ship and five official ships. For the following 24 hours, to 6 a.m. on 25 October, it again reported no aircraft, with five PLA Navy ships and eight official ships. The ministry did not give a reason for any of the changes, and its reports do not describe the purpose of individual movements.

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Taken together, the three reports show the number of PLA Navy ships around the island moving from one to five to six over three days, while the number of official ships stayed between five and nine. “Official ships” is the ministry’s own category and is reported separately from PLA Navy vessels. The MND does not break the category down in its daily text.

Geopolitiki reported the previous day-by-day count here: Taiwan MND reports no Chinese military aircraft, but 6 PLA Navy ships and 7 official ships around the island on 22 October. The ministry publishes these figures every day under the heading “PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan”, and, when aircraft are detected, attaches an illustration of the flight paths to the report.

The reports for 24, 25 and 26 October are available on the Taiwan MND website. The 26 October report was read in its Chinese-language version.

China PLA Taiwan Taiwan Strait

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