Recently, military circles have blown up.
The fuse was the CCTV military documentary "Quenching". In the film, Dong Jun, one of the first J-20 pilots of the PLA Air Force, inadvertently revealed a key information: he had witnessed the scene of Taiwan Island when he was flying a J-20 fighter.
This sentence seems to be prosaic, but it has stirred up a thousand waves in the situation in the Taiwan Strait. You must know that the PLA has never publicly confirmed the J-20's participation in the cruise mission against Taiwan before. The timing of this "official leak" is difficult not to make people think about it.
Even more intriguing is the reaction — or lack thereof, of the Taiwanese military.
In the past few years, the Taiwan authorities have announced that PLA military planes have flown around Taiwan as many as 1,000 times, but the J-20 has never appeared. Could it be that the Taiwan military really "knows nothing" about this most advanced stealth fighter of the PLA?
The answer is probably not optimistic.
From a technical point of view, the J-20, as a fifth-generation stealth fighter independently developed by China, integrates the world's top stealth technology, including a unique aerodynamic layout, advanced radar absorbing materials and a built-in weapon bay. These designs make the radar reflection cross-section (RCS) of the J-20 greatly reduced, which is much lower than that of traditional fighters.
In other words, in front of the active radar system of the Taiwan military, the J-20 can almost "come without a trace, go without a trace".
It is not that the Taiwan military is unaware of its own shortcomings. In recent years, they have been actively seeking to upgrade radar systems and even try to import more advanced anti-stealth radars from the United States. But the reality is cruel, and the technological generation gap cannot be made up for overnight.
What's more, Taiwan Island is small in size and seriously lacks strategic depth. This means that even if the Taiwanese radar can catch the weak signal of the J-20, it is often at a very close distance, leaving them very little time to react.
Of course, the technical disadvantage may be compensated for by tactical adjustments. However, the Taiwan authorities' political calculations have completely put them in a passive position in the field of information warfare.
Admitting that the J-20 cannot be found means that it will expose its scars, which will not only hit the confidence of the people on the island, but also disgrace the "Taiwan independence" forces.
But if it is admitted that the J-20 can be discovered, it is equivalent to directly exposing its intelligence gathering capabilities to the PLA. With the strength of the PLA, it is entirely possible to take countermeasures at the first time and make the Taiwan military's radar system "blind."
Caught between a dilemma and a dilemma, the Taiwan authorities have chosen the most "safe" and most helpless method: pretending to be deaf and dumb.
However, paper can't contain fire after all. The inadvertent "official leak" of CCTV's military documentary is tantamount to directly piercing the information cocoon carefully woven by the Taiwan authorities.
What is even worse is that this "official leak" may only be the tip of the iceberg of the PLA's information warfare.
Remember the leak that happened in April 2023 in the United States Department of Defense? A confidential report on the PLA-8 supersonic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was leaked to the Internet, in which a reconnaissance route of the Wuzhan-8 flying over the island of Taiwan appeared.
The Wuzhen-8 does not have stealth performance, and it mainly relies on high-altitude and high-speed flight to evade interception. However, even such a "brazen" reconnaissance operation has never been publicly disclosed by the Taiwan authorities.
The logic behind this is not difficult to understand. Admitting that the Wuzhen-8 cannot be discovered is tantamount to admitting that the air defense system of the Taiwan military is in vain; But if it is admitted that it can be detected, it does not explain why no interception measures were taken.
To put it bluntly, the Taiwan authorities' information warfare defense line has long been riddled with holes. The "movements of the PLA's military planes" that they have carefully concocted are not so much to "appease the people" as they are to cover up their own comprehensive rout in the field of information warfare.
The news that the PLA "leaked" the J-20 approaching Taiwan this time is more like a blow to the Taiwan authorities: Stop deceiving yourself and others, we know your cards very clearly.
The news that the PLA's "official leak" J-20 approached Taiwan was undoubtedly a bombshell that caused an uproar in the Taiwan Strait. However, this is not an isolated incident, but the latest manifestation of the mainland's preparations for a military struggle against Taiwan.
Since 2016, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has begun to organize military aircraft and warships to patrol around Taiwan on a regular basis, and has gradually evolved from the initial training in the open sea to military operations close to actual combat.
The "official leak" incident can be regarded as another escalation of the PLA's military deterrence against Taiwan. Behind this, there are warnings against the Taiwan authorities' refusal to recognize the "consensus of '92" and their constant provocation of the mainland's bottom line, as well as a deterrent to external forces meddling in Taiwan Strait affairs.
More importantly, the PLA hopes to send a clear message to both inside and outside the island in this way: The mainland is fully prepared for military struggle and has the determination, ability, and confidence to smash any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist plot.
Specifically, the PLA's "official leak" J-20 arrived close to Taiwan, conveying at least the following layers of strategic intentions:
**1. Exerting psychological pressure on the "Taiwan independence" forces to break their will to resist. **
For a long time, the "Taiwan independence" forces have always harbored illusions and tried in vain to rely on external forces to "resist reunification by force." The PLA's "official leak" J-20 approaching Taiwan this time is precisely to shatter their illusions and make them understand that the mainland already has strong military strength, and any military adventure will pay a heavy price.
**2. Test the response of the Taiwan military and find out its combat system and intelligence acquisition capabilities. **
After the PLA "leaked" the news that the J-20 had arrived in Taiwan, the reaction of the Taiwan military and whether it can accurately grasp the trajectory of the J-20 will become an important reference basis for the PLA to evaluate its combat capability.
In addition, the PLA can also test the performance parameters of the Taiwan military's radar system, electronic warfare capabilities, and loopholes in the air defense combat system through this operation, so as to make full preparations for possible military operations in the future.
**3. Show your own strength and warn foreign forces not to act rashly. **
In recent years, United States and other external forces have continuously stepped up arms sales to Taiwan and frequently dispatched warships and planes to the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to "use Taiwan to contain China."
The PLA's "official leak" J-20 approaching Taiwan is precisely to send a clear signal to these external forces: Chinese mainland has the determination and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and any external interference will be futile.
4. Strengthen the superiority of information warfare, disintegrate the morale of the Taiwan military, and shake the will of the people on the island. **
Information warfare is an important part of modern warfare. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is well aware of this and has continuously strengthened its information warfare capabilities.
The "official leak" incident is a successful application of the PLA's information warfare. It has not only put the Taiwan authorities in the embarrassing situation of "leaking secrets when they are discovered, and being incompetent if they are not discovered," but more importantly, it has exposed the overall inferiority of the Taiwan military in the field of information warfare.
It is foreseeable that in the future, the PLA will continue to strengthen preparations for military struggle against Taiwan and make full use of various means, including information warfare and psychological warfare, to exert greater pressure on the "Taiwan independence" forces and force them to give up their "Taiwan independence" plot and return to the political basis of the "consensus of '92."
The future trend of the situation in the Taiwan Strait depends on whether the island can make a clear understanding of the situation and make the right choice. If the "Taiwan independence" forces insist on going their own way and insisting on provoking the mainland's bottom line, they will inevitably incur even greater disasters.
The J-20's arrival in Taiwan is just a microcosm of the "invisible contest" in the Taiwan Strait.
Behind the PLA's "official leaks" is the reality that the mainland has continued to exert its efforts in the field of information warfare and has continuously reduced the space for strategic deception of the Taiwan authorities.
Information warfare, as the name suggests, is a combat mode that uses information as a weapon, strives for information superiority, and ultimately wins victory in a war.
In modern warfare, information warfare has long gone beyond traditional propaganda and agitation and has penetrated into various fields such as operational command, intelligence reconnaissance, and electronic countermeasures, and has become a key factor in determining the outcome of a war.
The Taiwan Strait, as one of the most sensitive regions in the world, has naturally become the "main battlefield" of information warfare.
In recent years, the mainland has continued to exert efforts in the field of information warfare, constantly improving its ability to perceive, transmit, process, and apply information, and actively exploring new concepts, new means, and new tactics for information warfare.
From the guidance of public opinion by the official media, to the dissemination of public opinion on non-governmental networks, to electronic countermeasures in military exercises, the mainland's information warfare system is gradually taking shape and playing an increasingly important role.
On the other hand, the Taiwan authorities have been in a situation of being passively beaten in the field of information warfare for a long time.
On the one hand, the Taiwan authorities are seriously lagging behind in building their information warfare capabilities, lacking effective means of collecting, analyzing, and processing information, and finding it difficult to cope with the mainland's ever-increasing information offensive.
On the other hand, the Taiwan authorities have long pursued an "ostrich policy" and tried to cover up their own problems and deficiencies through information blockade and control of public opinion, but the result has backfired, resulting in a continuous decline in the trust of the people on the island in the Taiwan authorities.
What is even more fatal is that the Taiwan authorities lack strategic determination in the field of information warfare, and are often led by the nose by the mainland, and are tired of coping with them, making it difficult to form effective countermeasures.
For example, whenever a PLA military plane cruises around Taiwan, the Taiwan authorities always jump out as soon as possible to "protest" and announce the so-called "movements of the PLA military plane."
However, these "protests" and "dynamics" of the Taiwan authorities are often full of loopholes and even contradictory contradictions, and on the contrary, they have exposed their own shortcomings in intelligence collection and analysis.
The PLA, on the other hand, can take advantage of these "mistakes" of the Taiwan authorities to further release false news, create confusion, and disrupt the judgment of the Taiwan military, so as to ultimately achieve the goal of "surrendering the army without a fight."
It can be said that in the field of information warfare, the Taiwan authorities have already lost the first move. Moreover, with the continuous improvement of the mainland's information warfare capability, the disadvantages of the Taiwan authorities will become even more obvious.
In the face of the mainland's ever-increasing information warfare offensive, the Taiwan authorities can only find a solution to the problem by having a clear understanding of the situation and giving up their illusions.
First of all, the Taiwan authorities must squarely face up to their own shortcomings in the field of information warfare, increase input, strengthen information warfare capabilities, and raise the level of information perception, analysis, processing, and application.
Second, the Taiwan authorities must change the "ostrich policy," establish a transparent and open information release mechanism, and promptly inform the people on the island of relevant information to avoid panic and confusion caused by information asymmetry.
The most important thing is that the Taiwan authorities must give up the illusion of "resisting reunification by force," return to the political basis of the "consensus of '92," and resolve differences through cross-strait dialogue and consultation, so as to truly safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Otherwise, on the "invisible battlefield" of information warfare, the Taiwan authorities will only lose even more badly.
The arrival of the PLA's "official leak" J-20 in Taiwan seems to be a simple military action, but in fact it contains profound strategic considerations.
It is not only a stern warning to the "Taiwan independence" forces, but also a tough stance against external forces, and more importantly, a manifestation of the mainland's firm determination to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The future direction of the situation in the Taiwan Strait depends on whether the island can make a clear understanding of the situation and make the right choice.
If the "Taiwan independence" forces insist on going their own way and insisting on provoking the mainland's bottom line, they will inevitably incur even greater disasters.
On the other hand, if the island can return to rationality, give up the "Taiwan independence" plot, and return to the political basis of the "consensus of '92," cross-strait relations will be able to return to the correct track of peaceful development.
History has proven that peaceful development is the common well-being of compatriots on both sides of the strait, and "Taiwan independence" splitting will only bring disaster to Taiwan.
It is hoped that the compatriots on the island will have a clear understanding of the general trend of history, cherish peace, and contribute to the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Some of the content in the article comes from sources: 1. Expert: The J-20 fighter has two major functions and will cruise Taiwan in the future
2. The confrontation between Chinese and foreign aircraft carriers, the J-20 approached Taiwan, and the "Quenching" published a number of "firsts" for the People's Liberation Army Global Times