China’s Military Buildup: Civilian Ships Practicing for Potential Taiwan Invasion
REPORTER:
Satellite images and ship transponders show 12 civilian vessels leaving ports in China’s north, heading for beaches in Guangdong Province. These boats include ferries with ramps that could make it easier to roll vehicles onto beaches and cargo ships that can operate in shallow water without port facilities.
Once there, they practiced what a beach landing in a Taiwan invasion might look like. Unloading military equipment, building temporary piers, and launching amphibious assault vehicles.
China’s “shadow fleet” is growing.
Adm. Lee Hsi-ming (Ret.) (FMR. CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, TAIWAN):
My guess is that they are trying to develop a kind of large number of small amphibious landing ships And during wartime, they will conduct multi-point, small amphibious landing operations.
REPORTER:
Exercises like these suggest that China is preparing for a land invasion as part of its plans for Taiwan, which it claims and has threatened to take by force. Although the ships are not naval vessels and not built for combat, they could play a vital role in ferrying materiel in an attack.
These ships turn off their trackers to avoid detection, but satellite images show how this shadow navy is a growing threat to Taiwan’s security.
Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson (Ret.) (US MARINES):
They may not be in the assault echelon, but they would certainly be irreplaceable for hauling stuff:
Getting on and onto the beach, getting the causeway pieces assembled and getting them back off of the beach again in three and half hours is indicative of a lot of things.
It would indicate they've done some training on this.
REPORTER:
Taiwan’s defense ministry declined to comment, saying the military will continue to closely monitor China’s activities, assess its own effectiveness, and prepare through war games and live-fire exercises.
Since President Lai Ching-te took office last year war games and military drills have increasingly taken a more realistic approach. Bayonet training and flashy testing have been phased out in favor of fighting off simulated beach landings.
With the threat of China’s shadow navy looming, Taiwan is going to have to work even harder to keep its shores safe.
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