Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that on February 28, an unspecified number of People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft flew over the sea southwest of Taiwan. It said the unspecified number of PLAAF H-6 bombers flew over the region before entering the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. Soon after entering the Bashi Channel, the bombers returned to an unspecified base through the same route. The Taipei Times on March 1 reported that China has carried out an increasing number of drills near Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) won re-election in January 2020. It listed that on February 9 and February 10, China dispatched PLAAF J-11 fighters, KJ-500 early warning and control aircraft, and H-6 bombers on flight missions near Taiwan. On February 10, several PLAAF aircraft briefly crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s airspace, but retreated to the western side of the line after Taiwan military dispatched F-16s and other military aircraft to meet them and issue radio warnings. 

On February 12, the U.S. dispatched two B-52 StratoFortress bombers flying off Taiwan’s east coast, while an MJ-130J Commando II multi-mission combat transport plane flew over the Taiwan Strait. On February 16, the U.S. sent the USS Chancellorsville south through the Taiwan Strait.