China is rehearsing for a potential invasion of Taiwan using a shadow navy of civilian cargo ships and ferries, according to a visual investigation that tracked vessel movements and analyzed satellite imagery of military exercises conducted this summer.
The investigation reveals that China’s People’s Liberation Army is experimenting with techniques that could accelerate the landing of troops and equipment onto multiple Taiwanese beaches simultaneously — a strategy that military experts say aims to overwhelm the island’s defenders.
Twelve civilian vessels — six roll-on, roll-off car ferries and six deck cargo ships — were identified as they traveled in mid-August to a beach near Jiesheng in Guangdong Province. Satellite images captured some of the ships conducting beach landing operations on Aug. 23.
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