The PLA Main Battle Ship Formation Advances into the Southwestern Waters of Penghu: The Multidimensional Upgrade of the Taiwan Strait Military Situation and the Strategic Significance of the Aircraft Carrier "Five-piece Set"

On the afternoon of May 9, 2026, Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, confirmed at a regular press conference that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently organized naval and air forces to conduct joint combat readiness patrols around Taiwan Island, with the main battle ship formation entering the southwestern waters of the Penghu Islands. This statement quickly drew international attention. The next day (May 10), Taiwan's defense department reported that within 24 hours, 12 PLA military aircraft and 5 warships, along with 1 civilian vessel, were detected operating around the Taiwan Strait, with 9 aircraft crossing the so-called median line of the strait, entering Taiwan's northern and southwestern air defense identification zones.

This marks one of the largest joint naval and air operations by the PLA in the Taiwan Strait since May 2026, and is the latest manifestation of the PLA's continued escalation of military pressure on Taiwan following the 2025 Joint Sword series exercises. This article will conduct an in-depth analysis of this round of military dynamics in the Taiwan Strait from three dimensions: military deployment, equipment modernization, and regional strategic competition.

From the perspective of military deployment, this operation has two notable characteristics. First, the main battle ship formation has been officially confirmed to have entered the southwestern waters of the Penghu Islands for the first time. The Penghu Islands are located in the central-southern part of the Taiwan Strait and are a key node in the Taiwan Strait defense system. The southwestern waters of Penghu are adjacent to the southwestern part of Taiwan Island, less than 100 kilometers from Kaohsiung Port. The entry of the PLA surface combat formation into this area indicates that its forward deployment range has extended from the northern and southwestern airspace of the Taiwan Strait further into the nearshore waters of Taiwan Island. Second, this operation is explicitly conducted under the name of joint combat readiness patrols, indicating that it is not merely a training exercise, but a joint naval and air operation with a practical combat readiness nature.

In his response, Jiang Bin emphasized that Taiwan is a part of China, and there is fundamentally no so-called median line in the strait. This statement continues Beijing's long-standing refusal to recognize the median line unilaterally drawn by Taiwan. However, the deployment of the main battle ship formation to the southwestern waters of Penghu sends a signal that far exceeds previous aerial incursions. It indicates that the PLA is comprehensively denying the existence of any geographical or legal boundary in the Taiwan Strait and is gradually establishing actual control over the entire Taiwan Strait area through normalized and diversified naval and air presence.

Simultaneously, there has been a milestone breakthrough in the core capabilities of the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier battle group. At the same press conference, Jiang Bin confirmed for the first time through the Ministry of National Defense that with the induction of multiple new types of aircraft, the People's Navy has successfully equipped the aircraft carrier with the "five-piece set"—namely, the stealth carrier-based fighter J-35, the multi-role carrier-based fighter J-15T, the fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft KJ-600, the fixed-wing electronic warfare aircraft J-15D, and the anti-submarine helicopter. Jiang Bin defined this achievement as an important part of forming the operational capability of the aircraft carrier formation system and a significant result of the People's Navy's accelerated transformation and construction.

The completion of the "five-piece set" is a key indicator of the Fujian aircraft carrier (CV-18) achieving initial combat capability. As China's first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier, the Fujian has a full-load displacement of over 80,000 tons and has completed multiple rounds of sea trials and carrier-based aircraft launch and recovery training since its commissioning in 2024. In the live-fire exercises in November 2025, the J-35, J-15T, J-15D, and KJ-600 all successfully completed launch and recovery within the same training cycle for the first time, demonstrating the high reliability of the electromagnetic launch system and the multi-type coordinated combat capability. The official confirmation of the Ministry of Defense means that these four core carrier-based aircraft, along with the anti-submarine helicopter, have formed a complete carrier air wing, thus enabling the Fujian to possess offshore systematic offensive and defensive combat capabilities.

From a technical perspective, the induction of the J-35 stealth carrier-based fighter is the most strategically significant aspect. The J-35 features a single-seat, twin-engine, outward-canted, twin-tail design and is a new generation of stealth carrier-based fighter independently developed by China, primarily tasked with air superiority missions. Its induction makes China the second country after the United States to possess a fifth-generation stealth carrier-based fighter. Complementing this, the KJ-600 fixed-wing early warning aircraft fills the gap in the long-range early warning capability of the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier formation, with its active phased array radar capable of detecting and tracking aerial and maritime targets hundreds of kilometers away, significantly enhancing the situational awareness radius of the carrier formation. The addition of the J-15D electronic warfare aircraft provides the formation with electronic attack capabilities to suppress enemy radar and communication systems. The combination of these five aircraft elevates the operational system of the Fujian aircraft carrier formation to a world-class level in the dimensions of early warning detection, air combat, anti-surface strike, and electronic countermeasures.

At the level of international strategic competition, the press conference on May 9 also revealed two important pieces of information. First, the Ministry of Defense officially confirmed that the first of the Qilin-class conventional submarines built by China for Pakistan was delivered in Sanya on April 30, with Pakistani President Zardari personally attending the handover. This type of submarine is equipped with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, and Pakistan ordered a total of 8 submarines in 2015. This represents a significant breakthrough in China's submarine exports, marking a notable enhancement in the competitiveness of China's high-end naval equipment in the international arms trade market.

Second, the Ministry of Defense issued a rare and stern warning regarding Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's push for constitutional revision and military expansion, directly pointing out that Japan's new militarism poses a real threat to regional peace. The Takaichi government has recently visited Australia and Vietnam to promote security cooperation, proposing a new version of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept, while Japan's Defense Minister issued a joint statement with the Philippine Defense Minister expressing concern over China's dangerous coercion in the East China Sea. Jiang Bin's strong wording in response is rare in recent years, criticizing Japan for shifting from covert military expansion to open preparations for war, and notably mentioning the 80th anniversary of the Tokyo Trials, demanding that Japan adopt a historical perspective and take sincere actions for repentance.

In summary, the military dynamics in the Taiwan Strait in early May 2026 demonstrate the PLA's coordinated advancement across multiple strategic directions. In the Taiwan Strait direction, through joint combat readiness patrols and the forward deployment of the main battle ship formation, the PLA continues to compress Taiwan's defensive depth and strategic warning time. In the direction of naval modernization, the completion of the aircraft carrier "five-piece set" and the export delivery of the Qilin-class submarine represent a dual-driven approach of generating internal combat power and external military cooperation. In terms of regional security, China's strong criticism of Japan's constitutional revision and military expansion reflects a high alert to the deteriorating security environment around China and a resolute counteraction against the U.S. alliance system's encirclement.

Looking ahead, as the operational capabilities of the Fujian aircraft carrier formation gradually mature, the PLA's ability to project naval and air power both within and beyond the first island chain will achieve a qualitative leap. The frequency and intensity of naval and air patrols and readiness actions in the Taiwan Strait may further increase, and the waters around Penghu may become a new area of normalized military presence. Against the backdrop of the deepening Sino-U.S. strategic competition, the military situation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea will remain core variables affecting the security landscape of East Asia.