China’s Invasion Barges Signal Potential Invasion of Taiwan

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – China is reportedly building “D-Day style” landing barges specifically designed to deploy People’s Liberation Army (PLA) vehicles onto Taiwanese beaches, suggesting preparations for a potential full-scale invasion, according to the UK Telegraph.

Naval News reported that up to five landing barges are under construction at Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China. Resembling the Mulberry Harbours from the World War II Normandy invasion, these barges feature novel designs and rapid construction. Although a smaller prototype surfaced in 2022, the current batch has only recently appeared.

Since 2022, China has developed landing barges that can be built in months, providing a key capability to connect nearly any ship to the shore.

These barges could enable the PRC to land at previously unsuitable sites, including rocky or soft beaches, and deliver tanks directly to firm ground or roads. This flexibility allows China to choose new landing sites, complicating Taiwanese defenses, and effectively deploy a mobile port across the strait.

Dr. Emma Salisbury, Sea Power Research Fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, told Naval News that these mobile piers seem particularly suited for an invasion of Taiwan.

“Any invasion of Taiwan from the mainland would require a large number of ships to transport personnel and equipment across the Strait quickly, particularly land assets like armored vehicles,” she explained. Salisbury added, “As preparation for an invasion, or at least to give China the option as leverage, I would expect to see a build-up of construction of ships that could accomplish this transportation.”

In the past decade, the PLA Navy has expanded its amphibious fleet with eight landing docks, three assault ships for troops and helicopters, and a large assault ship capable of launching high-performance drones, all equipped to deploy landing craft, according to the Telegrah.

Tensions between China and Taiwan, a vital U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific, remain high as Beijing refuses to recognize the island’s independence. In his New Year’s message, Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared that Taiwan’s “reunification” with China is inevitable.

“The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification,” Xi Jinping stated on China’s state broadcaster, CCTV.

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