PLA Aircraft Sorties Drop to Zero — First Clean Day Since Han Kuang 42 Window Began; 7 PLAN Vessels, 6 Official Ships Still Present

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported detecting no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan in the 24-hour window from 06:00 (UTC+8) August 20 to 06:00 August 21, 2026 — the first zero-sortie day in the post-Han Kuang 42 tracking window, which had ranged from 1 to 20 sorties/day since the exercise concluded August 14. The MND noted that 'illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe.' Naval and coast guard presence continued uninterrupted: 7 PLAN vessels and 6 China Coast Guard/official ships were detected in the same window. The ROC Armed Forces said it continued to monitor the situation with combat air patrol aircraft, naval ships and coastal missile systems on standby.