The PLAN carrier Liaoning (16) and three escorts transited between Okinawa and Miyako into the Pacific on Oct. 14, per Japan's Joint Staff. About 250 km south of Ishigaki, the carrier ran roughly 10 fighter and helicopter takeoffs and landings. The group, which also includes Type 055 destroyers Anshan (103) and Wuxi (104) and Type 052DL destroyer Huainan (123), was confirmed heading for the South China Sea on Oct. 15. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, which is watching for a large-scale PLA exercise as the November-December drill season nears, said the deployment has put regional states on alert.

Taiwan detected 16 PRC vessels around the island on Oct. 18, including six China Coast Guard ships, six research and survey vessels, and four fishing vessels believed to be maritime militia, per National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu. The vessels were spread from waters north and east of Taiwan to southwest of Kaohsiung and around Dongsha. Wu called the activity part of a pattern of expansionism and provocation across the wider Indo-Pacific.

TSM’s new interactive Taiwan Arms Sales Backlog Tool is now live! The tracker lets users explore the backlog month by month, break outstanding sales down by capability type, and follow individual cases from congressional notification through contracting, partial delivery, and completion. As of today, Taiwan’s backlog stands at $29.72 billion across 28 open cases. Users can trace how that total has accumulated over time, view reported delivery timelines and major milestones, and see which systems have begun arriving—and which ones are taking the longest to ship. Access it here: taiwanmonitor.com/interactiv…

Taiwan pledged NT$63.75 million (US$2 million) over five years to a Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission trust fund supporting Pacific Island partners. The second phase will provide financial, scientific, and technical assistance to Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and Palau while deepening Taiwan’s cooperation with regional fisheries organizations.

Taiwan’s 3rd Theater of Operations conducted heavy-artillery live-fire training in Hsinchu on Aug. 25, employing M109A2 and M110A2 self-propelled howitzers alongside 155 mm and 105 mm towed artillery. Units moved from tactical positions to the Kengzikou training area, occupied firing positions under time constraints, conducted live fire, and immediately displaced afterward, testing artillery readiness, rapid fires, and survivability against enemy UAV reconnaissance. 📸: Wang Jinfu, Military News Agency

1/6 🧵 NEW: Taiwan Security Monitor’s May Strait Snapshot is out from the PLA Activity Center. Here are some of our findings: Figure 1 shows May’s defining features: PLA air activity reached its highest level of 2026, but paused entirely during the May 14–15 Trump-Xi summit.

UPDATE: For the second consecutive day, Taiwan’s MND has reported zero PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan, extending the current lull in activity around Taiwan to 9 of the past 10 days. Read TSM’s analysis on the different explanations of China’s unusual change in activity around Taiwan here: tsm.schar.gmu.edu/all-quiet-…