TAIPEI ¨C 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 a strategy that military experts say aims to overwhelm the island¡¯s defenders.
Twelve civilian vessels ¡ª six roll-on, roll-off car ferries and six deck cargo ships ¡ª 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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