China Testing Ferry-Based Invasion Fleet And Assault Barges For Taiwan

The increasingly imminent invasion or blockade of Taiwan can be seen in the latest satellite imagery of communist China testing its amphibious landing barges tailor-made for an assault on the self-ruled democratic island.

In addition to its massive naval buildup giving it the world’s largest navy by hull count — including a surge in advance amphibious assault ships and landing docks similar to those used by the U.S. Navy and  Marine Corps — China is building a number of new specialized landing barges analysts, dubbed Shui Qiao, or “water bridges,” purpose-built for a beach assault and landing on Taiwan.

Satellite imagery shared on X shows three Shui Qiang landing barges off the coast of Ningbo in Zhejiang province on Nov. 20.

A separate photo captured by European Space Agency satellites and reported by Newsweek shows three barges linked together.

As Newsweek noted:

Each barge is equipped with a 400-foot deployable roadway that extends from the bow. With multiple vessels connected, the trucks and tanks can be transferred from incoming ships and directly onto coastal roads on the far side of a beach.

Experts note that the Shui Qiao would be easy targets, however, and would require substantial air and naval cover to operate effectively in a real assault.

Bryce Barros, a security analyst and associate fellow at the think tank GLOBSEC, previously told Newsweek:

Everything about whether or not they can be used effectively depends on China having full control of the waters and skies around Taiwan. They’re very slow; they’re very large; and they’re huge targets. That means they’d need strong air defense, counter-drone systems, and protection against unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.

Still, as one source noted, in a second wave assault, the linked barges would allow the Chinese Navy to have a pier extending approximately 850 meters into the sea, which would facilitate the connection of deeper-draft cargo ships to the structure and thus reduce the number of vessels needed to transport the same cargo.

And, using the barges’ self-elevating supports would provide greater resistance to hostile weather, including strong winds and waves.

Zona Militar explains:

This highlights significant differences compared to the floating pier deployed by the U.S. in the Gaza Strip as part of its efforts to provide humanitarian aid in 2024, which could only be sustained for less than a month before breaking due to the rough sea conditions in the area.

These barges would also not be identifiable through the Automatic Identification System (AIS) typically used to monitor vessel movements, making their tracking significantly more difficult.

But the barges wouldn’t be alone. Other disturbing satellite imagery has confirmed that in recent naval exercises, an armada of civilian ferries was commandeered by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) commanders to practice delivering military gear, vehicles, and troops without port facilities.

The U.S. Sun reported:

China needs the ships because its military is capable of moving just 20,000 soldiers – but will need 300,000 to take heavily defended Taiwan.

Images recorded on August 17 showed 12 large civilian vessels setting off for a landing beach in Guangdong Province to rehearse a military assault.

Six were roll-on, roll-off car ferries carrying troops and military vehicles and the other six were deck cargo capable of carrying more soldiers and heavy weapons.

All 12 were then observed by satellite and transponder tracking websites moving closer to shore under cover of darkness then launching beach landings after dawn.

The ferries were supported by four Shui Qiang assault barges composing the self-propelled temporary pier system capable of delivering fleets of tanks and thousands of troops directly onto Taiwanese roads.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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