Amphibious assault vessels reportedly being built by China are aimed at allowing it to cross beaches covered in land mines, a researcher said on Sunday.
The Web site Naval News on Friday published an article saying that China was building “a number of special and unusual barges… that have unusually long road bridges extending from their bows.”
The article said the vessels would be “particularly relevant to any future landing of [People’s Republic of China] PRC forces on Taiwanese islands.”
Photo: Ministry of National Defense/AFP
The barges would enable the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to land a large amount of heavy military equipment on Taiwan, it said.
“At over 120 meters [the barges’ bridges] can be used to reach a coastal road or hard surface beyond a beach. At the aft end is an open platform which allows other ships to dock and unload,” it said.
“Some of the barges have ‘jack up’ pillars which can be lowered to provide a stable platform even in poor weather. In operation the barge would act as a pier to allow the unloading of trucks and tanks from cargo ships,” it added.
Reached for comment, Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research director at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the PLA would aim to use the barges to cross beaches where Taiwan’s military has planned to spread mines with its M136 Volcano Vehicle-Launched Scatterable Mine Systems.
“Minesweeping is very slow, but the special platform on this barge could be used to land without passing through the beach, so there is no danger of stepping on mines,” he said.
However, using barges would open Chinese forces up to attack, and the PLA would be especially vulnerable when trying to land on beaches where Taiwan has troops stationed, he said.
“The army’s first-line coastal garrison would have fixed gun batteries, rockets and other artillery at its disposal, and its second-line corps use self-propelled artillery and armed helicopters,” he said.
However, if the PLA breached these lines and still had naval combat power during a landing attempt, missile boats and land-based mobile anti-ship missile systems would also be deployed to attack the PLA’s landing forces, he said.
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