WarBrief Live | October 26, 2026 | Intelligence Tool Profile
PLATracker is an open-data platform turning defense-ministry releases into structured records of Chinese military activity around Taiwan, Japan and the South China Sea. Founded by Ben Lewis, it is the reference analysts reach for when a spike, or a sudden silence, in activity around Taiwan needs a number. It operates no sensors of its own: its value is collecting and publishing what governments already release.
What it does
PLATracker’s core product is a set of trackers built from open sources, above all the daily releases of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) and Japan’s Ministry of Defense. Its flagship Taiwan ADIZ Violations tracker compiles MND data on more than 20,000 PLA aircraft flights. Alongside it sit trackers for PLA activity around Japan, from more than ten years of Japanese Ministry of Defense data; U.S. arms sales to Taiwan back to the Obama administration; naval activity in East Asia; Chinese orbital launches back to 2013; Russian military activity around Japan back to 2007; and air activity around Japan since 1967. The platform also publishes analysis, and its founder is regularly quoted when PLA activity shifts.
How analysts use it
The most common workflow is trend analysis: analysts plot weeks of sorties, median-line crossings and vessel counts to judge whether an exercise or a quiet spell is routine or unusual. In early 2026, Taiwan recorded 13 consecutive days from February 27 without Chinese warplanes near the island, except on March 6, when two aircraft appeared in the far southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Lewis told CNN it was unlike anything seen in recent history, and the lull was covered by the Wall Street Journal and AFP: the tracker turned an absence into a measurable anomaly while leaving the explanation open.
Analysts also use the data to test political claims. In October 2026, Lewis told Domino Theory that Chinese drills around Taiwan that week looked routine, noting most notices predated Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s speech, and cautioned that a closure moving into the Taiwan Strait would change that assessment. On October 26, 2026, Taiwan’s MND reported 3 PLA aircraft sorties, 6 PLA Navy vessels and 9 official ships around Taiwan, with one sortie crossing the median line — the kind of daily figure the tracker places in context, as in WarBrief’s coverage of China’s coast guard patrols east of Taiwan. For broadcasting aircraft, analysts pair it with ADS-B Exchange.
Access and pricing
The trackers are published on platracker.com, require no account to browse, and the project advertises no subscription price or paid tier. Researchers wanting download access are asked to contact the team — the ADIZ documentation gives info.PLATracker@gmail.com for requests, and asks that published use cite Gerald C. Brown and Benjamin Lewis, Taiwan ADIZ Violations, PLATracker, 2024. In practice, the cost of using PLATracker is attribution, not money.
Limitations
PLATracker inherits the limits of its sources. Its documentation is explicit: the ADIZ data contains everything Taiwan’s MND chooses to share, and there is almost certainly activity it does not disclose. The data is therefore best used for trend analysis, not as a complete census of PLA movements. Second, an ADIZ entry is not an airspace violation in the legal sense: the zone is a monitoring area beyond sovereign airspace. Third, the tracker records activity, not intent — during the February 2026 lull, Lewis himself noted nobody had an answer. Finally, ministry-release data is retrospective: PLATracker is a record for analysis, not a live sensor feed.
Frequently asked questions
What is PLATracker?
An open-data platform founded by Ben Lewis that compiles defense-ministry releases into trackers of Chinese military activity around Taiwan, Japan and the South China Sea.
Is PLATracker free to use?
The trackers are published on platracker.com with no subscription advertised. Bulk download requires contacting the team, and published use should carry the citation.
Does PLATracker show every PLA flight near Taiwan?
No. It records what Taiwan’s MND chooses to release, so it is best used for trend analysis, not a complete count.
Sources
- PLATracker: Trackers
- CNN: Chinese fighter jets stopped buzzing Taiwan
- Domino Theory: China’s military exercises this week
- Reuters: Antelope Reef
