Foreign, Taiwan island media hype on alleged Chinese mainland construction of landing barges exposes anxiety over growing PLA capabilities: expert

Media and experts on the island of Taiwan have taken interest in a recent report by foreign news outlet Naval News claiming that the Chinese mainland is “suddenly building a fleet of special barges suitable for Taiwan landings.” The barges may enable the Chinese mainland to conduct landings at previously unsuitable sites and complicate the island’s defense strategies, Naval News speculated.

Naval News first reported on Friday that a number of specialized barges, at least three, but likely five or more, have been observed in Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China. These have unusually long road bridges extending from their bows.

Each barge has a very long road span which is extended out from the front. At over 120 meters this 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, Naval News said.

The report noted that only a few beaches on Taiwan’s main island are suitable for amphibious landings, and these could be heavily defended. But these new barges change that, as they can land across rocky, or soft, beaches, allowing tanks to be delivered directly to firmer ground or coastal roads.

While Naval News mentioned the possibility that the barges could have a civilian role, it claimed they appear greatly over-spec for civilians uses.

The Chinese mainland has made no official announcements about the alleged barges as of press time.

Media on the island of Taiwan, including the Central News Agency and United Daily News, made coverages on the alleged barges late on Saturday. The title of the Central News Agency’s report focused on the barges’ capability to have tanks directly land on roads on the island of Taiwan, while United Daily News noted that the Naval News report was discussed by military experts on the island.

Lu Li-shih, a former captain of the Ching Chiang-class patrol corvette of the island of Taiwan, said that the new landing vessels can save the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) time in clearing obstacles on the beaches set by Taiwan’s armed forces, United Daily News reported. The report also quoted an anonymous retired officer as saying that these barges are not useful, because they would need to sail across the Taiwan Straits under the targeting of the island of Taiwan’s missiles and drones.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese mainland military expert, said the alleged barges, if turn out to be true, could be of civilian purposes. He told the Global Times on Sunday that such barges could be particularly useful in disaster relief missions, as they can quickly send supplies to land or quickly evacuate personnel.

If the barges indeed have military use, Fu pointed out that the Chinese mainland has an increasing variety of vessels for amphibious landing, with the PLA equipped with diverse options to address the Taiwan question when it comes to that. 

“Resisting reunification by force” is a dead end, Fu said. The media hype has exposed a sense of anxiety regarding the PLA’s growing ability to address challenges in amphibious operations. Rather than speculating on the military purpose of these alleged barges, the focus should shift to making concrete efforts to promote a peaceful reunification, he said.