HIMARS NT$800M Payment Deadline Day — PLA Drops to 1 Sortie; 8 PLAN Vessels, 4 Ships Sustain Maritime Pressure

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected only 1 PLA aircraft sortie in the 24-hour window ending at 06:00 local time (UTC+8) on May 31, 2026 — a dramatic 94% drop from May 30's 16-sortie surge. Eight PLAN vessels and 4 official ships continued to operate around Taiwan, sustaining maritime presence while air activity collapsed. May 31 is the critical HIMARS first payment deadline: Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed the NT$8.81B FY2026 special procurement budget on its third reading on May 29 without opposition, and the Executive Yuan pre-authorized emergency reserve funds as a payment backstop, positioning Taiwan to meet the NT$800 million (HIMARS) down payment due today. The sharp single-day air de-escalation following May 30's post-budget-passage surge is consistent with the established PLA spike-then-pullback oscillating pattern documented throughout May 2026 (e.g., 29 sorties May 2 → 1 sortie May 3; 26 sorties May 26 → 10 sorties May 27). The full May 2026 sortie sequence reached: 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→16→1. The sustained 8-vessel naval presence (with 4 official ships) on deadline day suggests PLA continued to signal pressure through maritime means even as air operations pulled back. ROC Armed Forces deployed CAP aircraft, naval vessels, and coastal missile systems in response.