PLA Posts 9 Sorties on May 12 — 5 Cross Median Line Into SW/Eastern ADIZ; 7 PLAN Vessels + 1 Ship; 2 Days to Trump-Xi Summit

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported 9 PLA aircraft sorties in its daily 06:00 local time snapshot on May 12, 2026, with 5 of 9 sorties crossing the Taiwan Strait median line and entering Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone in the southwestern and eastern sectors. 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship were detected operating around Taiwan — an increase from 5 PLAN vessels on May 11. The May 12 count represents a slight re-escalation from May 11's 7-sortie pullback, sustaining PLA's pre-summit pressure with the Trump-Xi Beijing summit now just 2 days away (May 14-15). The updated May pre-summit sortie sequence now reads: 4 (May 1) → 29 record (May 2) → 1 (May 3) → 2 (May 4) → 1 (May 5) → 0 (May 6) → 22 (May 7) → 12 (May 8) → 8 (May 9) → 12 (May 10) → 7 (May 11) → 9 (May 12). ROC Armed Forces monitored the situation and responded by dispatching combat air patrol aircraft, naval vessels, and coastal missile systems. The PLA's maintained pressure pattern — with median line crossings on 5 of 9 aircraft — reflects continued military signaling as Trump prepared to travel to Beijing for the summit.