Has China’s missile force got America’s Kadena base in Japan in its sights?

A recent CCTV documentary has inadvertently shown a satellite image of the US Air Force's Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, being discussed among People's Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force officers as a potential target. The image, which appears in the background while officers speak about an exercise and combat scenarios, closely matches the layout of the airbase, surrounded by urban development.

PLA Rocket Force officer Luo Tingrong is seen speaking in front of a large screen displaying the satellite image, stating, "Everything you practise today could be what happens tomorrow." The documentary, part of a series marking the PLA's 99th anniversary, did not specify when the discussion took place. Kadena, the largest US airbase in East Asia and a crucial hub for American military operations in the western Pacific, is located about 600km from Taiwan and less than 800km from the mainland coast.

It is within the range of several Chinese land-based missiles, including the DF-16, DF-21, and the latest DF-17 hypersonic missile, all designed to strike high-value fixed targets such as airbases. Professor Tetsuo Kotani of Meikai University in Japan suggests that Kadena has been a known target of China's Rocket Force for decades, and releasing it now, timed to the PLA's anniversary, is about projecting resolve to domestic and foreign audiences.

The documentary also implies that China is worried about the geostrategic utility of Japan's Southwest Islands in a possible Taiwan contingency, reminding Japan of the necessity to strengthen their defence capabilities to prevent China's pre-emptive attacks against Japanese territories.