PLA Surges to 29 Sorties on May 2 — New Non-Exercise Record Surpassing April 26 Peak; 15 of 29 Cross Median Line Into Northern, Central, SW ADIZ; J-10, J-16, KJ-500 AEW&C Deployed; 12 Days to Trump-Xi Summit

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported a surge to 29 PLA aircraft sorties and 6 PLAN vessels plus 2 official ships operating around Taiwan as of 06:00 local time on May 2, 2026 — a new non-exercise peak surpassing the previous record of 28 sorties set on April 26, and the highest single-day sortie count since Justice Mission-2025 (December 2025). Fifteen of the 29 sorties crossed Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, entering simultaneously into Taiwan's northern, central, and southwestern ADIZ sectors in a multi-vector air pressure operation. Aircraft types identified included J-10 fighters, J-16 multi-role fighters, and KJ-500 airborne warning and control system (AEW&C) aircraft — the inclusion of KJ-500 indicating command-and-control coordination, not merely air presence demonstration. The May 2 spike occurred 12 days before the Trump-Xi Beijing summit (May 14-15) and represents a further escalation of PLA's oscillating pre-summit pressure campaign: 2 sorties (Apr 30) → 4 sorties (May 1) → 29 sorties (May 2, new record). The multi-sector penetration geometry — northern + central + southwestern ADIZ simultaneously — mirrors the most aggressive April operations (Apr 21: 24 sorties; Apr 26: 28 sorties). No specific external trigger was publicly confirmed for the May 2 spike; analysts assess it reflects deliberate PLA calibration of pre-summit political signaling intensity. Taiwan's MND deployed combat air patrols, naval ships, and coastal missile systems in response. The May 2 spike may be linked to public reports on May 2 that Taiwan had topped Xi Jinping's agenda for the upcoming Beijing summit, giving Beijing reason to reinforce its coercive signaling ahead of a key diplomatic moment.