China’s military uses civilian cargo ship for transport in ‘Taiwan invasion drill’
- State television shows 16,000-tonne vessel carrying dozens of military vehicles
- Analyst says civilian ships could be used to bring in supplies during an attack
The exercise was highlighted on state television last week. It involved an amphibious brigade from the 73rd Group Army based in Xiamen, Fujian – the eastern province that faces Taiwan across a narrow strait. Transport was provided by a 16,000-tonne civilian ship, CCTV said in the report on August 17, without saying when or where the exercise was held.
“It’s the first time we’ve used a civilian ship with displacement of more than 10,000 tonnes,” Wang Hua, an officer with the 73rd Group Army, told the broadcaster. “In the past we relied on smaller civilian ships of a few thousand tonnes to handle offshore loading of supplies.”
During the drill, troops from the brigade’s armoured vehicle unit “repelled” an attack as they were loading the cargo ship, according to the report, which showed dozens of military vehicles being transported on the civilian vessel at sea.
Lu Li-Shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said the exercise suggested the People’s Liberation Army was conducting preparedness training for an attack on the island.
