With an amphibious invasion of Taiwan deemed increasingly risky, leaked documents indicate that Russia is training and equipping Chinese units to potentially airdrop near the island’s ports and airfields to clear a path for the landing of follow-on forces.
But such a move wouldn’t only affect Taiwan, experts warn, as Chinese paratroopers and special forces would likely also seek to infiltrate nearby countries to secure airfields or other infrastructure that could support U.S. operations to counter Chinese amphibious landings on Taiwan.
“Russia is equipping and training Chinese special forces groups to penetrate the territory of other countries without being noticed, offering offensive options against Taiwan, the Philippines and other island states in the region,” Oleksandr Danylyuk and Jack Watling, military experts with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank, wrote in a recent report.
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