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DRAMATIC footage captures a fleet of Chinese tank boats charging through the sea in tight formation during military drills near Taiwan.
The show of force by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) comes as Taiwan kicks off its largest-ever military exercises.
Footage released by China’s state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday shows amphibious armoured units conducting live-fire exercises as tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalate.
The drills were carried out by the PLA’s 72nd Group Army just off the southern coast of Fujian province – directly across from Taiwan – in what analysts see as a deliberately provocative move.
A video released on Thursday shows reconnaissance troops from the 73rd Group Army practising armed swimming, underwater combat and long-range coastal infiltration drills.
Military experts describe the drills as a “counter-display” after Taiwan launched its own large-scale military exercises on Wednesday.
Taiwan’s drills focused on decentralising command systems, defence officials told Reuters.
In one exercise, around 300 reservists were stationed at an empty high school in Taoyuan, where they trained in mortar and rifle operations.
China and Taiwan’s displays of military might reflect an escalation in tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
China views the democratically governed island as part of its territory.
For this reason, it has ramped up military pressure around the island over the last five years, including regular naval and air patrols near Taiwan.
Meanwhile, China’s new giant “sea monster” warplane was spotted for the first time in the Bohai Sea on Monday.
The wing-in-ground effect (WIG) aircraft, commonly known as an ekranoplan, calls to mind Soviet military tech from the Cold War era.
The vehicle seems to have a boat-shaped fuselage and a joined V-shape tail – a common configuration for WIG craft.
It could be used to facilitate rapid coastal transport and resupply missions or amphibious operations, according to aviation and maritime experts.
And experts fear it could be used in any potential military operations against Taiwan in the future.
It comes just months after satellite pictures showed China’s new invasion barges lining up to form a floating bridge.
The satellite images show three specialised barges, each with two arms of roadway, lining up next to each other.
They connect to form a continuous bridge along which invading ground vehicles such as tanks could trundle ashore.
Huge retractable legs anchor the barges to the seabed like stilts.
Why is Taiwan under threat of Chinese invasion?
TAIWAN is under threat of a Chinese invasion as a result of its political and historical ties to China and its strategic importance
- After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the defeated Nationalist government (Kuomintang) fled to Taiwan while the Communists took control of mainland China
- Since then, Taiwan has evolved into a self-governed democracy
- But the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland
- Taiwan has never formally declared independence, partly to avoid provoking a military response from China
- Chinese President Xi Jinping has tied “national rejuvenation” to reunifying Taiwan with the mainland
- Most countries, including the US, do not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent nation, but they do support Taiwan militarily and economically
- China views foreign support of Taiwan, especially arms sales and diplomatic visits, as provocations
- Taiwan is strategically important as it sits in a vital geopolitical position in the Asia-Pacific
- This makes its location a gateway to the South China Sea
