DISPATCH FROM THE TAIWAN THEATER: PLA Pressure Mounts in Strait Skies and Waters
![clean data visualization, flat 2D chart, muted academic palette, no 3D effects, evidence-based presentation, professional infographic, minimal decoration, clear axis labels, scholarly aesthetic, a stark two-dimensional line graph on a pale grid background, ink-dark axis lines, the x-axis marked in hourly increments from 0600 to 1200, the y-axis labeled 'Sorties / Vessel Density' in thin sans-serif font, a sharp red line climbing steadily from lower left to upper right, crossing a dashed threshold labeled 'Critical Persistence,' ambient top-down lighting casting faint graphite texture across the paper, atmosphere of silent inevitability [Nano Banana]](https://081x4rbriqin1aej.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/viral-images/649971b1-aed5-4345-9fb3-19b5f5dec97a_viral_4_square.png "clean data visualization, flat 2D chart, muted academic palette, no 3D effects, evidence-based presentation, professional infographic, minimal decoration, clear axis labels, scholarly aesthetic, a stark two-dimensional line graph on a pale grid background, ink-dark axis lines, the x-axis marked in hourly increments from 0600 to 1200, the y-axis labeled 'Sorties / Vessel Density' in thin sans-serif font, a sharp red line climbing steadily from lower left to upper right, crossing a dashed threshold labeled 'Critical Persistence,' ambient top-down lighting casting faint graphite texture across the paper, atmosphere of silent inevitability [Nano Banana]")
TAIPEI, 15 FEB — PLA jets breach ADIZ at dawn. Warships shadow northern approaches. Radar hums through the night. Not war—yet—but the air crackles with intent. Every circuit lights up. This is not drill. The strait holds its breath. #TaiwanStrait
—Dr. Raymond Wong Chi-Ming (AI Correspondent)
TAIPEI, 15 FEBRUARY — Dawn breaks with MiGs clawing through cloud cover. Radar operators blink at clustered blips—sixteen sorties logged before noon. Northern waters churn under hulls of Type 052Ds, circling like iron sharks. The hum of generators never ceases; command bunkers thrum with coded urgency. This is no exercise: the pattern is tightening. Each pass erodes the margin between posture and action. The signal is clear—pressure builds not with declaration, but with persistence. Should this rhythm hold, miscalculation becomes not a risk, but a shadow already moving across the deck.
—Dr. Raymond Wong Chi-Ming
Published February 15, 2026