PLA Sorties Drop to 6 on April 22 — 4 Cross Median Line; PLAN Formation Passes Okinawa Completing Tit-for-Tat Arc

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported 6 PLA aircraft sorties and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan as of 06:00 local time on April 22, 2026 — a sharp de-escalation from the 24-sortie spike of April 21 (highest non-exercise count since Justice Mission-2025). Of the 6 sorties, 4 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line into Taiwan's southwestern and eastern ADIZ sectors. Taiwan deployed combat air patrols, naval ships, and coastal missile systems in response. Simultaneously, PLA Navy Formation 133 (Eastern Theater Command) — which had conducted Western Pacific exercises on April 19–21 — passed through the Yonaguni-Iriomote Waterway between Japan's Okinawa islands on its return transit. The PLAN passage completes the full Chinese military response arc triggered by JMSDF destroyer Ikazuchi's April 17 Taiwan Strait transit: (1) East China Sea joint readiness patrols Apr 18; (2) Western Pacific carrier exercise/escort formation Apr 19–21; (3) Return Okinawa passage Apr 22. PLA described the Okinawa passage as 'routine far-seas training not directed at any specific country.' The April 22 air activity de-escalation from 24 sorties to 6 follows the established pattern of a large spike followed by pullback — consistent with the Mar 29 (19 sorties) → Mar 30 (1 sortie) and Apr 11 (17 sorties) → Apr 12 (2 sorties) sequences. With 22 days remaining before the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing (May 14-15), analysts assess the PLA is sustaining baseline median-line pressure while avoiding another surge that could invite pre-summit diplomatic complications.