PLA showcases YJ-20 hypersonic missiles as Balikatan drills heat up South China Sea

The Chinese military aired footage over the weekend of YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile launches, as joint US-Philippines-Japan drills heighten tensions in the disputed South China Sea. China Military Bugle, a social media account run by the People’s Liberation Army, posted a video on Sunday of the PLA Navy conducting strike tests at sea, including multiple YJ-20 launches. The post did not specify when and where the missiles were fired. However, the footage was released two days after Beijing said a naval fleet led by Type 055 destroyer Zunyi had “recently conducted” live-fire drills and joint air-sea exercises in waters east of Luzon, a Philippine island near Taiwan. While some of the footage matched video released by the PLA last December of the Type 055 destroyer Wuxi test-firing a YJ-20, Sunday’s video included two new shots of the launch. The PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, which focuses on the South China Sea, said on Friday that the exercises led by the Zunyi were “necessary actions taken in response to the current regional situation”. The deployment appears to have coincided with the start of “Balikatan 2026”, the latest edition of the massive annual US-Philippine joint exercises. Launched on April 20, this year’s 19-day exercise marks Japan’s first-ever participation in the operational phase alongside its fellow US ally. The drills are taking place in areas facing the South China Sea and Taiwan, including Luzon, according to the Philippine military. Taiwan is separated from Luzon by the Bashi Channel, which is about 250km (155 miles) wide. The Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait on April 17 while en route to the Balikatan drills. Beijing, which has consistently expressed concern over all such transits and the broader Balikatan exercises, denounced the Ikazuchi’s passage as a “deliberate provocation”. “Faced with such a highly targeted exercise, the PLA’s forces conducting related exercises in the waters east of Luzon island is a reasonable response,” Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, a Chinese foreign ministry think tank, told state broadcaster CCTV in an interview aired on Saturday. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, Philippines and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons. Beijing and Manila are also rival claimants in the South China Sea and have engaged in a string of maritime clashes in recent years. The Type 055 is China’s most advanced and largest destroyer, displacing over 10,000 tonnes. “Last December, the PLA confirmed that the Type 055 had completed final-stage testing of the YJ-20 anti-ship missile, proving its capability to carry the weapon in strike missions. The YJ-20 – also known as the Eagle Strike-20 – made its official debut last September at Beijing’s military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, the end of World War II. The hypersonic missile is believed to be capable of sinking large surface combatants with a single strike at a range of 1,000 to 1,500km. It features a cruising speed of around Mach 6 and a terminal dive speed reaching Mach 10. Japan took part in the Balikatan exercise as an observer for years before maintaining a limited non-combat presence in 2025. This year, it has expanded its role with the first-ever deployment of its Type 88 shipborne anti-ship missile system, with an operational range of about 100km. Marine Colonel Dennis Hernandez, a Philippine military spokesman, confirmed that the Type 88 missiles would be deployed during a live-fire maritime strike exercise, which would involve sinking a decommissioned vessel in waters near the South China Sea and Taiwan. Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel and military commentator, said that the Type 88 was Japan’s main indigenously developed anti-ship missile, finalised in 1988. It was an older model, not counted among the most advanced anti-ship missiles available today, he added. “This type of missile has basic anti-ship capabilities, but only subsonic attack capability. Modern advanced anti-ship missiles must at least have supersonic speeds during the attack phase,” Yue said. “The YJ-20 is a relatively mature anti-ship missile model that China has just developed, with a speed at least several times that of the Type 88.”

PLA showcases YJ-20 hypersonic missiles as Balikatan drills heat up South China Sea

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Video of PLA Navy strike tests emerges as US, allies take part in Balikatan 2026, marking Japan’s first-ever operational role in the drills

Video of PLA Navy strike tests emerges as US, allies take part in Balikatan 2026, marking Japan’s first-ever operational role in the drills