The People’s Liberation Army has accused Japan of taking a “dangerous gamble” with its plan to deploy satellite-aided drones to its southwestern islands near Taiwan.

In a commentary on Sunday, the PLA Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese military, said that while Tokyo maintained that it was building a multilayered coastal defence system, the equipment had a “distinct offensive nature”.

“While called a ‘shield’, it is in reality a ‘spear’,” it said.

The Type 25 is a long-range, domestically developed stand-off weapon operated by the Ground Self-Defence Force (SDF). It has an extended range of up to 1,500km, allowing Japan to strike maritime and land-based targets across the East China Sea from its territory.

Japan is actively equipping its naval fleet with US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles to bolster its long-range counterstrike capabilities. The country plans to 400 Tomahawks with a range of roughly 1,600km, allowing it to hit targets deep inland without exposing vessels to close-range enemy fire.