The Chinese military is on Facebook – but its messages are not sticking

As its strength grows, the PLA's efforts to project a benign image must be coupled with greater restraint on the ground.

- Lim Min Zhang China Correspondent

In November, China’s Ministry of Defence marked one year of the Chinese military’s official debut on foreign social media, with a video thanking viewers for their support.

The account, under the handle China Military Bugle, was set up on X in September 2024. It later expanded to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube - all platforms that are banned in China, indicating that such content is meant for foreign consumption.

It includes posts on China’s contributions to peacekeeping forces in countries such as Lebanon and “friendly visits” between warships such as a recent exercise with Vietnam, in between slick training footage of fighter jets and army battalions.

Last week, on Dec 9, the social media accounts were pressed into service again, with the release of an audio clip in a battle of narratives over an incident involving Chinese and Japanese fighter jets in international airspace near Okinawa.

Chinese fighters from the Liaoning aircraft carrier had allegedly locked their fire-control radar onto Japanese fightersa threatening move to make for a military aircraft - which had been scrambled to shadow the Chinese fleet in that training.

“Irrefutable Evidence: Japan has been hyping up the so-called issue of ‘radar illumination’ in recent days. What is the truth?” said the post, which has an accompanying video that shows Chinese warship personnel informing a Japanese warship about the training.

China-Japan ties have been frosty since November, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks that Japan will be militarily involved if China puts up a naval blockade over Taiwan. For Beijing, the comments crossed a red line as it views the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own territory.

Having to project a friendly, peace-loving image while doubling down on more hardline stances illustrates the central difficulty for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in its efforts to open up to a global audience.