Logistical advance, new piers reinforce Chinese sovereignty in Taiwan

Satellite Images Reveal Chinese Mobile Piers Designed to Overcome Coastal Challenges, Bolstering China’s Defense Capability and Territorial Sovereignty

China is building a new class of mobile piers, satellite images reveal, that could bolster its ability to land an invading force in Taiwan, marking a major step forward in its preparations for a possible attack in the future.

Satellite images captured on Friday and analyzed by Financial Times show six barge-like vessels, equipped with extendable ramps, under construction at the state-owned Guangzhou shipyard. These vessels could help the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) transport heavy military equipment, such as tanks and artillery, through mud areas or breakwaters to firm ground.

The construction of these vessels, initially reported by the defense website Naval Newscomes as the PLA tries to fill large gaps in the capabilities needed to launch an attack on Taiwan. Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has threatened to annex it by force if Taipei resists unification indefinitely.

Last month, China unveiled a new hybrid amphibious assault vessel, the largest of its kind in the world, which military commentators compared to a “light aircraft carrier.”

Requests for comment to China’s Defense Ministry went unanswered on Monday.

According to Chinese military academic studies, the PLA would target ports and airports in a scenario of invading Taiwan, in order to bring troops and materials. Amphibious landings would be necessary if this approach failed or was insufficient, as hundreds of thousands of soldiers would be needed to conquer and control the island.

In amphibious landing exercises since at least 2020, the Chinese military has been experimenting with floating systems such as docks and bridges to offload armored vehicles and other equipment from ferries and ships.

However, barges under construction in Guangzhou have several pairs of pillars that resemble the legs of offshore oil platforms, suggesting they could be anchored in coastal silt.

“The PLA likely realizes that these floating systems are very vulnerable to attack because they take a long time to assemble and cannot handle high winds and waves due to a lack of stabilization,” said Michael Dahm, a senior researcher at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace and Space Studies. China in Washington and a former naval intelligence officer.

Chinese military researchers have repeatedly highlighted the importance of stabilized landing systems and the weaknesses of floating systems in articles published in military logistics journals in recent years.

“These concerns were reinforced by the challenges the US faced with its floating pier in Gaza,” Dahm said. The US plan to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestine via a floating pier last summer failed after just 20 days when waves damaged and broke the structure, built at a cost of $230 million.

Analysts believe an amphibious invasion of Taiwan would be one of the most difficult operations in military history. Large stretches of the Taiwanese coast are made up of cliffs, reefs and rocks, while the flat western coast is full of mud areas where heavy equipment could easily get stuck.

Much of the coastline is also separated from inland areas by concrete breakwaters or retaining blocks.

Land-based lifting equipment like the new barges could help an invasion force overcome these obstacles, analysts said. Satellite images showed mobile piers of three different sizes. The largest, with eight pillars, was 183 meters long and had a ramp that extended for another 128 meters.

However, military experts say a Chinese invading force would still face difficulties advancing through Taiwan’s western countryside, which is densely packed with rice paddies, fishponds and urban areas, with wide roads often difficult to access from the coast.

Taiwanese observers have highlighted that the PLA’s new capability reinforces Taipei’s need to attack Chinese forces before they reach the coast.

“We should be able to hit their large amphibious assault ships, their helicopters and airborne forces,” said Lin Ying-yu, assistant professor at the Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

“It’s like baseball,” Lin added. “They may have picked a great closer, but if we fight well in the first wave, that skill won’t make a difference.”

With information from Financial Times*