China is mobilizing a fleet of civilian ships that could aid in an invasion of Taiwan, a mission that “could surpass the Second World War’s Normandy landings in scale and complexity,” Reuters yesterday reported.
The report tracked drills of civilian ships using transponder signals and satellite imagery to conclude that China is developing concrete invasion plans to rehearse new techniques and speed up beach landings, it said.
It said it identified twelve ships that can offload and unload cargo and vehicles without port facilities, traveling from the northern Chinese coast and arriving on Aug. 23 at a landing beach in Guangdong Province near a suspected military base.
The report said this was the first time satellite imagery has shown civilian cargo ships making beach landings during a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) amphibious landing exercise, citing naval warfare experts.
The fleet included six roll-on, roll-off ferries and six deck cargo ships that could be used to carry vehicles, it said.
The roll-on, roll-off ferries have been used in military exercises since at least 2019, it said, citing a US military report.
Some of them can drop off or pick up amphibious assault vehicles directly from the water using retrofitted ramps, it added, citing images from Chinese state media.
The testing of this system suggests the PLA fears it might be unable to seize or prevent the demolition of Taiwan’s existing ports and cargo-handling facilities in the early phases of an invasion, it said, citing military experts.
“Cargo ships could land after the first amphibious assault vehicles swim to shore, and play a crucial role in resupplying them before China gains control of Taiwanese infrastructure,” a former US naval intelligence officer J. Michael Dahm said.
“It is a huge increase in their first wave capacity, in their ability to take heavy vehicles straight to the beach in a first wave,” former US submarine officer Thomas Shugart said.
Taiwan is monitoring the use of civilian vessels in military exercises and has “developed relevant contingency plans,” Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in September.
The PLA has the authority to take control of civilian shipping vessels for military purposes, to join the world’s largest navy, the report said.
Experts estimate that the PLA has enough ships and landing craft to carry about 20,000 troops and their equipment in the first wave of a landing, falling far short of the estimated 300,000 to one million required to launch a successful invasion, the report said.
It is not known how many civilian ships are used in these exercises, as their shipping registration does not differ from other cargo vessels, it said.
However, the simple design and relative ease of construction of deck cargo ships means they can quickly be built in large numbers, it said, citing a report authored by researcher Cono Kennedy that was published by the US Naval War College last year.
China’s shipyards account for 53 percent of global shipbuilding, while the US accounts for just 0.1 percent, it said.
Moreover, one of China's latest roll-on, roll-off ferries can be bought for US$60 million, while the US Navy’s latest amphibious assault ship is estimated to cost more than US$3.8 billion, it said.
Earlier this month, China also commissioned a third, more advanced aircraft carrier, the 80,000-tonne Fujian, in a show of growing naval prowess, it said.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
A man walks past elementary school artworks at the Taipei Lantern Festival in Ximen District yesterday, the first day of the event. The festival is to run from 5pm to 10pm through March 15.
RSS