Chinese military drills simulate amphibious landing and island seizure in battle conditions
- Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and has held 20 naval exercises involving elements of island capture in the first half of 2021
- Chinese embassy in the UK urges London to respect that China’s sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea have historical and legal basis
In addition, the People’s Liberation Army has staged drills in the South China Sea as British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed through the disputed waters.
An amphibious synthetic brigade under the Xiamen-headquartered 73rd Group Army recently conducted a drill on China’s Southeast Coast, an exercise in the military’s capability of conducting cross-sea island seizure operations.
In the most recent drill, the Chinese military incorporated two types of drones, amphibious assault vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, multiple launch rocket systems among their weaponry, according to video footage from China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
The drill was held in an environment close to a real battlefield in which a small group of front soldiers performed missions at night, amphibious assault vehicles fired guns at sea while heading to the beach and much of the exercise was conducted in weather above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).