Did a PLA stealth fighter approach a key Taiwan airbase? New video sparks debate

A video released by the People’s Liberation Army during a military drill this week has sparked debate about whether Taiwan failed to detect a J-20 stealth fighter and how close the aircraft might have come to a key military airport on the island.

The video was released by the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command on Tuesday – the second day of the “Justice Mission 2025” joint military exercises around Taiwan.

The footage shows a PLA J-20 flying near an unidentified landscape that some observers say resembles the area surrounding the Pingtung airbase in southern Taiwan.

Pingtung county hosts many of Taiwan’s critical military installations. These include the Jiupeng base, Taiwan’s primary missile and rocket research and testing facility, as well as the Joint Operations Training Base Command, the mechanised infantry brigade barracks and the Dahanshan radar station, which provides early warning.

Former Taiwanese navy lieutenant commander Lu Li-shih posted a picture on social media comparing a screenshot of the PLA video and the Pingtung area on Wednesday.

“J-20 fighter jets in Pingtung!” he wrote.

South China Morning Post