PLA 10 Sorties May 29 — 8 PLAN Vessels; US Autonomous Vessel 'Lightfish' Completes First Autonomous Taiwan Strait Transit

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected 10 PLA aircraft sorties and 8 PLAN vessels (plus 4 additional ships) operating around Taiwan in the 24-hour snapshot ending May 29, 2026. The activity extends the sustained post-Trump-Xi summit pressure pattern, with the full May 2026 sortie sequence now reading: 4→29→1→2→1→0→22→12→8→12→7→9→2→3→15→6→7→13→24→7→6→16→4→9→26→10→9→10. In a separate significant development, the US uncrewed surface vessel 'Lightfish' (operated by San Diego-based company Seasats) completed the first-ever autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait in late May 2026, traversing over 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 km) over five days while monitoring commercial shipping. During the transit, Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships including a PLA Navy Type 056 corvette, with Chinese vessels operating 'well within Taiwan's exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the automatic identification system (AIS).' The autonomous transit demonstrates a new dimension of freedom-of-navigation assertion in the strait, conducting intelligence collection and presence operations without risking US personnel. ROC Armed Forces deployed CAP aircraft, naval vessels, and coastal missiles in response to PLA activity.