China military aircraft flying near Taiwan falls by half in March
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No aircraft from the mainland were spotted for 11 days in March, following five such days in February.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TAIPEI - The number of Chinese military aircraft and balloons flying near Taiwan in March dropped by half from the year before, according to the island’s data and media reports, with the decline possibly linked to US President Donald Trump’s China trip, which was originally scheduled for April.
In a rare move for the Chinese military, which has sent its war planes close to the self-ruled territory almost daily, no aircraft from the mainland were spotted for 11 days in March, following five such days in February.
The Chinese military has not offered an explanation for reducing the number of aircraft flying near Taiwan.
Some analysts have speculated that Beijing is trying to save fuel amid surging crude oil prices due to the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Daily tallies released by Taiwan’s Defence Ministry showed that a total of 160 Chinese bombers, fighter jets, unmanned aircraft and balloons flew near the island in March, averaging 5.2 aircraft per day.
According to The New York Times, the Chinese military flew about 10 planes on average daily in 2025.
Some 300 aircraft from the mainland, or an average of 9.7 per day, were detected near Taiwan in January.
This number fell to some 200 and 7.2, respectively, in February, according to the Defence Ministry tallies.
Speculation was rife among military analysts and diplomatic experts that the cut in the number of Chinese military aircraft flights near Taiwan reflected Beijing’s intention of not escalating cross-strait tensions ahead of Mr Trump’s visit, which was later postponed to May.
In mid-March, the US President said that he would delay his visit to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping due to the ongoing war with Iran.
The White House said in late March that Mr Trump will hold talks with Mr Xi in the Chinese capital on May 14 and 15.
Following the announcement of the Trump trip postponement, the Chinese military increased the number of aircraft flying near Taiwan before reducing flights again.
Observers point out the upcoming trip to the mainland by Ms Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan’s biggest opposition Nationalist Party, may be related to the cut in late March.
The party, also known as the Kuomintang, said on March 30 that Ms Cheng will make a six-day visit to China starting April 7, at the invitation of Mr Xi. BLOOMBERG
