Chinese military’s largest amphibious assault ship passes assessment
- Type 075 amphibious assault ship the Hainan takes part in annual tests in South China Sea
- It passes an assessment on multidimensional landing combat, reducing the time needed for equipment loading and dispatching
In the year-end exam, the Hainan inspected the loading and unloading of air-cushioned landing craft, amphibious armoured vehicles and other equipment, greatly reducing the time needed for loading and dispatching, the report said.
China’s largest amphibious assault ship, the Type 075 is able to carry an estimated 30 helicopters and hundreds of troops. The Chinese navy has launched three of them, the first of which was commissioned in April at its Sanya base in Hainan, the southern island province.
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The Type 071 amphibious landing ship was also involved in the annual assessment, operating with an air-cushioned landing craft in a nighttime landing combat test, CCTV reported.
Military commentator and former PLA instructor Song Zhongping said the navy needed to establish a complete training programme for the Type 075, including the operating procedures for its use.
“It needs to coordinate with other warships, such as the 071, to form a cooperative combat capability, and then form a coordinated combat capability with other formations,” Song said.
“The PLA is now facing island seizure exercises and preparations for a potential future struggle to try to seize [Taiwan], in addition to the Spratly and Pratas islands [in the South China Sea].”
China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia claim sovereignty over all or part of the Spratly Islands (called the Nansha Islands by China), while the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands in Chinese) are governed by Taiwan but claimed by Beijing.
Song said the PLA Navy’s South Sea Fleet – to which the Hainan ship is commissioned – would play a significant role in any military action against Taiwan. In future, the ship would get involved with training with the Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees operations in the Taiwan Strait.
“The two major theatres coordinate the training of amphibious combat capabilities to form mutual support and cooperation,” he said.
Additional reporting by Laura Zhou
