A new video from the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command has ignited a fierce debate over whether a Chinese J-20 stealth fighter approached a critical Taiwanese airbase undetected. The footage, released during the “Justice Mission 2025” exercises, shows the advanced warplane against a landscape some analysts claim is Taiwan’s Pingtung county, home to vital missile and radar installations.
A cryptic video released by China’s military has sent analysts and officials into a spin, raising profound questions about stealth technology, detection capabilities, and psychological warfare in the Taiwan Strait. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) dropped the footage on Tuesday, the second day of its major “Justice Mission 2025” joint drills encircling Taiwan. It shows a sleek J-20 stealth fighter cruising over a rugged, green landscape. The location was not identified, but the resemblance to southern Taiwan’s Pingtung county was immediate and alarming to some observers.
Pingtung county is not just any piece of terrain; it’s a nerve center for Taiwan’s defense, hosting the crucial Jiupeng missile testing base, major army barracks, and the Dahanshan radar station. The suggestion that a J-20 could loiter nearby unseen strikes at the heart of the island’s early-warning capabilities. Former Taiwanese navy lieutenant commander Lu Li-shih was among the first to sound the alarm, posting a side-by-side comparison on social media with the caption, “J-20 fighter jets in Pingtung!”
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The core of the debate hinges on a critical technological gap. Retired Taiwanese air force lieutenant general Chang Yen-ting explained the stark reality on a local TV program, reported by the South China Morning Post. “Taiwan did not have the advanced radar technology to detect J-20s,” he stated bluntly. He clarified that the island’s existing phased array radars are ineffective against stealth aircraft, and it lacks quantum radar technology. “So for the J-20, we cannot detect it,” he concluded, adding that if detection were possible, the defense ministry “would have already announced it.”
However, skepticism quickly emerged from both sides of the strait. Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor, argued there was little tactical reason for the J-20 to risk exposure by flying so close. “The PLA wouldn’t do so just for show,” he told the South China Morning Post, emphasizing the need to protect the fighter’s secret electromagnetic signatures from US intelligence gathering in the region. Meanwhile, Taiwanese legislator Wang Ting-yu of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) asserted the video was actually shot in Guangdong province, mainland China, where similar topography exists.
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This geographical ambiguity was fueled when “Dayujianshui”, a popular Chinese social media account focused on PLA news, retracted its initial claim about the Pingtung location. The account suggested the fighters were likely over Fengshun county in Guangdong, possibly returning to their home base in Foshan.
Taiwanese officials have uniformly dismissed the video as “cognitive warfare,” a psychological tactic designed to intimidate and undermine confidence. Yet, the episode has escalated into a broader war of words. In response to the drills, mainland China’s defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang declared the PLA would “continue to strengthen its military training and preparedness” and was ready to retaliate against any provocative acts seeking Taiwan independence.
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The United States also weighed in. US Department of State deputy spokesman Thomas Pigott called Beijing’s activities and rhetoric destabilizing, urging restraint and “meaningful dialogue.” This exchange underscores how a single, ambiguous video can amplify tensions, forcing a confrontation not just over military facts, but over perception, technology, and resolve. Whether the J-20 was over Pingtung or Guangdong, its shadow now looms larger than ever in the strategic calculus of the Taiwan Strait.
