PLA Pauses Air Sorties on May 6 — 0 Aircraft Detected, 7 PLAN Vessels + 1 Official Ship; Lowest Air Activity Since Pre-May 2 Surge; 8 Days to Trump-Xi Summit

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported no PLA aircraft sorties in its daily 06:00 local time snapshot on May 6, 2026, while 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship continued operating around Taiwan — the first zero-sortie day since before the May 2 record surge. The 7 PLAN vessels represent a slight uptick from 6 vessels on May 5, maintaining meaningful maritime pressure even as air activity falls to zero. PLA's zero-sortie day marks the third straight day of near-minimum air activity following the 29-sortie non-exercise record of May 2: 1 sortie (May 3) → 2 sorties (May 4) → 1 sortie (May 5) → 0 sorties (May 6). With 8 days remaining before the Trump-Xi Beijing summit (May 14-15), analysts assess PLA is consolidating after establishing the new non-exercise peak on May 2 and allowing diplomatic conditions to develop before the summit. The elevated naval count (7 vessels) maintains cross-strait deterrence even without air sorties, consistent with PLA's established pattern of using maritime presence as a persistent signal during air lulls. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense maintained routine monitoring posture in response.