If anyone was wondering how Chinese troops and armored vehicles could be seen landing on the shores of Taiwan, then footage of military exercises in southern China’s Guangdong province showing barges equipped with interconnected landing bridges could provide a big clue.
The images were posted last month on the Chinese social media site Weibo – the images show how three specially designed Shuiqiao barges can be connected one behind the other to create a long, movable pier extending from deeper waters of almost a kilometer out to the shore.
The trials, conducted near the city of Zhanjiang, show that Beijing is not only working on new tools to increase its amphibious sealift capability, but is also planning ways to overcome the limited number of suitable locations for amphibious landing operations in Taiwan, as the barges could allow Chinese forces to land in a wider range of locations around the island.