One of the recent news that circulated in international media was China’s announcement that one of its most advanced combat planes, the J -20, crossed without being detected one of the most monitored maritime areas on the planet: the Strait of Tsushima, which separates Korea from southern Japan. This place is a strategic step where international trade circulates and where military forces from several countries operate.
The J -20 is a war plane developed by China. It belongs to what is known as the fifth generation, therefore, it is designed with stealth technology, also called poaching technology, which prevents detection by conventional radars. This is achieved with an aerodynamic combination, special materials and techniques that reduce their footprint in surveillance systems. The announcement was presented as a technological milestone and a gesture of silent power.
The statement came from official channels of the Chinese government. There was no confirmation of other countries, no images, or independent records. The flight was not recognized by Japan, or by South Korea, or by the United States, which maintains military presence in that region. The most mentioned defense system was mocked was Thaad, a shield designed to intercept missiles at high height, not to follow airplanes. This is important, because the most effective systems for detecting poachers are others, such as conventional air defense radars or naval surveillance systems. The news generated an impact among less specialized readers, although military analysts and intelligence services did not take it as a confirmed fact. This difference between the sought effect and the real reaction reveals that the objective of the announcement was not to verify a concrete action, but to install a perception.
This type of communication does not only aim to give information. The message has multiple recipients and is designed to produce different effects on each. First, he addresses the Chinese population, which receives the news as a demonstration that his country has reached a level of military development comparable to that of the most advanced powers in the world. The image of the plane that nobody can see serves to strengthen national pride and to reinforce confidence in the leadership of the Communist Party. Secondly, it is oriented to rival powers, sowing the idea that China could have more sophisticated capabilities of what is suspected. The intention is not to provoke, but to introduce uncertainty, destabilize forecasts, generate doubts about their own security. Third, there is also an intermediate audience: non -aligned countries, opinioners, global social networks. For that group, the message seeks to position China as an undisputed actor on the technological and strategic board.
The effectiveness of this strategy varies according to the context. On the internal plane, the messages of the Chinese government have a great arrival. The structure of state media and control over information allow the official narrative to have few rivals. In that field, the announcement of the invisible plane reinforces the idea of progress, sovereignty and technological superiority. On the external plane, the impact is more limited. In well -informed sectors, as military analysts, diplomats and defense experts, propaganda loses effect. These distinguish between real action and an unseatified statement. The most critical or access to other sources do not automatically replicate the stories. On the other hand, in stripes of global public opinion that do not closely follow defense issues, these messages can generate the impression that China advances without brake.
There are numerous cases where this strategy did not achieve the desired effect. Disinformation campaigns, attempts to influence foreign elections, computer -generated images or with voices of artificial intelligence, have been exposed by journalists, governments and technology experts. In several countries, organized operations were identified from false accounts that disseminated favorable content to the Chinese government. In other cases, invented news were discovered that simulated come from independent means. These actions reduced international confidence in Chinese official channels. The excess of grandiloquent statements, without verifiable support, wears the credibility of the issuer. The repetition of spectacular stories that are then denied or diluted in nowhere produces a cumulative effect of distrust.
Beyond the military and communication land, there is an additional aspect that deserves attention: the economic impact of these campaigns. In January, a Chinese company called Deepseek presented an artificial intelligence system. It spread like a technological revolution. In the hours after the announcement, the actions of several Western companies in the sector suffered falls. One of the largest lost, in a few hours, more than five hundred billion dollars of its stock market value. This loss was not due to a technical fact, or for a fault, but because of the effect that the announcement had on the perception of the market. Many investors decided to sell their shares to avoid future losses. This early sale operation occurs when a decline is expected, and if it effectively occurs, who sold before can repurchase cheaper and stay with the difference. This mechanism, known in English as “discovered sale”, is legal in many countries, but becomes controversial if who operates has false information or designed to cause that decline.
There is no official investigation that has proven that Deepseek’s announcement was part of a stock market manipulation strategy. There is also no public evidence that operators linked to China have benefited directly from the fall. However, the possibility is too concrete to rule it out. The combination of a spectacular announcement, an immediate stock market effect and a subsequent rectification that shows that the product was not as revolutionary as it was said, arouses legitimate questions. If this maneuver was intentional, then the objective would not have only been to gain prestige or influence, but also generate a financial movement that allowed to obtain economic benefits. The question is whether Deepseek was the first case or if we are facing a pattern that will be repeated with other news.
The example of the J -20 fits into this scheme. The announcement that a plane crossed a hypervigilated area without being seen generates effect on internal public opinion, influence on global strategic narrative and, in certain contexts, can also affect markets. It is not needed to be true. It is enough that it is plausible for some, provocative for others and useful for those who disseminate it. In this form of propaganda, the truth is not the goal. The important thing is the result. And the result is measured in perceptions, in disorientation, in fear, in caution, and in some cases, also in money.
What we are seeing is an evolution in the forms of political and strategic communication. The narratives do not seek to be confirmed, they seek to be functional. The facts do not have to happen, they have to seem possible. The force is no longer demonstrated with visible movements, but with statements designed so that others imagine what could happen. That imagination, when activated, modifies real decisions. Change diplomatic positions, alter military calculations, impacts technological investments. All that, without anything happened. Only with a phrase. Only with a message.
China learned to use this tool. The challenge for those who observe the international scenario is to know how to read that language and not respond to provocation, but to the mechanism. Understand not only what is said, but why it is said; And what can happen if it is taken as true. Because there are not always dragons, sometimes there is only smoke.
Things as they are
Mookie Tenembaum addresses international issues like this every week with Horacio Cabak in his podcast the international observer, available in Spotify, Apple, YouTube and all platforms.
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