PLA Activity: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported 4 PLA aircraft sorties, 6 PLAN vessels and 9 official ships around the island, with 2 aircraft crossing the median line into Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ, as Taiwan says it monitored and responded. Han Kuang Drills: President Lai Ching-te boarded a domestically built missile boat in Kaohsiung to oversee a coastal defense drill, while live-fire exercises in Kinmen tested combined strikes using Javelin missiles, rocket launchers, tanks and artillery. Typhoon Dolphin Disruption: Typhoon Dolphin hit Japan’s Okinawa and Kagoshima, injuring six and cutting power to tens of thousands of buildings; in Taiwan, ferry suspensions and flight changes were reported as the storm approached. Strait Traffic Row: Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council called China’s typhoon-linked shipping traffic control in the Taiwan Strait “ridiculous,” saying Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters. Defense Strategy Debate: A former senior Pentagon official said Taiwan’s “erosion” defense strategy can work if the island funds the needed capabilities and repeatedly exercises the plans. International Spotlight: Taiwan is set to attend a Pacific Islands leaders meeting in Palau after last year’s dispute, with the forum citing Taiwan’s role as a development partner.