PLA Drops to 2 Sorties on May 13 as Trump Arrives Beijing — 7 PLAN Vessels + 1 Ship; Summit-Eve De-Escalation; Full May Sequence: 4→29→1→2→1→0→22→12→8→12→7→9→2

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported just 2 PLA aircraft sorties in its daily 06:00 local time snapshot on May 13, 2026 — a sharp de-escalation from May 12's 9-sortie count as US President Trump arrived in Beijing ahead of the May 14-15 Trump-Xi summit. 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship continued operating around Taiwan, maintaining maritime presence even as air activity collapsed to near-baseline. The May 13 sharp pullback is consistent with PLA's established pre-summit de-escalation behavior: May 6 (0 sorties) preceded the May 7 22-sortie surge; May 3 (1 sortie) preceded the escalating pattern. The full 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) → 2 (May 13). PLA analysts assess the pullback signals Beijing's willingness to manage military pressure during active diplomatic engagement while preserving full capability and precedent to re-escalate based on summit outcomes. The May 13 de-escalation mirrors the diplomatic choreography seen ahead of Xi-KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun's meeting on April 10 (when PLA briefly pulled back air activity on the day of the summit). ROC Armed Forces monitored the situation and responded by dispatching combat air patrol aircraft, naval vessels, and coastal missile systems.