Our Best Look Yet at China’s New ‘Invasion Barges’
14th March 2025
New imagery has appeared of one of China’s new ‘invasion barges,’ which involves a temporary pier that can be connected to other vessels via a barge, or series of barges, with jack-up supports for more stability. The development of jack-up barges is widely seen as part of preparations for a possible invasion of Taiwan by the People’s Republic of China. At the same time, they also reflect the growing use of ostensibly non-military maritime assets to support amphibious operations by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
A new video showing three of the jack-up barges deployed in tandem on a still-unidentified beach began to circulate recently on social media channels.