🚢 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 Commercial "landing craft" that exist in large numbers might provide additional sealift to the beach

PRC SEALIFT UPDATE: based on a review of satellite imagery & AIS data from recent landing exercises, it appears China is practicing using dual-use civil-military landing craft for direct beach assault.

To the details: for a few years now, we've seen what've been known as "deck cargo ships" being used in PLA military transport exercises.

When we've seen these deck cargo ships in exercises before, it has been to transfer vehicles and material from port-to-port

It's hard for me to say exactly how many of these ships are out there. If you search AIS data for Chinese-flagged 85-100m cargo ships, you get 1000 or so hits. And it's hard to narrow down further since there is so little other data, and few photos.

Connecting the dots: the PRC appears to now be practicing direct beach assaults using a type of RORO cargo ship, derived from a military landing craft design, that exists in indeterminate—but certainly large—numbers, and whose operations & construction are difficult to track.

I and others have written before about the possible (major) contribution that PRC civilian ROROs could make to a landing on Taiwan.

But other than ferries dropping amphibious vehicles off modified ramps to go ashore, those ships would need ports...

...either captured ports or China's new Shuiqiao-class "invasion barge" LPUs.

These LCTs could provide additional sealift capacity of indeterminate (& perhaps significant) scale for a first beach assault, something that's often a limiting factor in assessments of the PLA's ability to land—and using ships that routinely operate all over China's east coast.

📎 Tom Shugart

🚢 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 "On the topic of China's 2024 Joint Sword exercises, we see that for the first time, the exercises included Taiwan's offshore islands - and integration of the China Coast Guard into the exercise."

"The rapid growth of the CCG's capability is something I've pointed to before."

The Great White Wall: China’s Coast Guard Expansion and What It Could Mean for the Future of Taiwan (article)

The scale of the force underscores this shift. The Chinese Coast Guard’s total displacement now surpasses that of all NATO European, and most Pacific navies, making it the largest maritime law enforcement fleet in the world by a considerable margin. This is not simply a peacetime presence. It is an instrument of national power, fielded at scale, and likely built to play a leading role in any future Taiwan crisis.

📎 Tom Shugart

🇨🇳 🇹🇼 Chinese state media has published an additional map showing all prior joint exercise zones around Taiwan in one image.

🟨 Yellow is the 2022 Pelosi visit exercises.
🟥Red is the Joint Sword-2024A exercise.
🟦Teal is today's Justice Mission 2025 exercise

📎 Taiwan Security Monitor

🇺🇸 🇵🇷 The U.S. continues to bolster its airpower in the Caribbean, with at least 10 MQ-9A Reaper drones, 11 CV-22B Ospreys, 10 MC-130J Commando IIs, and 36 fighter aircraft now forward deployed to Puerto Rico.

• BQN: Special ops + drone hub
• RVR: Strike assets + IWOARG ACE
• SJU: C2, ISR, EW
• PSE: Navy + USMC port

📎 Ian Ellis

🇺🇸🇻🇪🇨🇴❗️ El president de Colombia, Gustavo Petro, denuncia los bombardeos sobre el país vecino.

🇬🇧 The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, denounces the bombings of the neighboring country.

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️

🇺🇸🇻🇪❗️ Imágenes del despliegue de vehículos militares del ejército venezolano en las calles de Caracas.

🇬🇧Images of the deployment of Venezuelan army military vehicles in the streets of Caracas.

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️

🇺🇸🇻🇪❗️Declaración del gobierno venezolano: Rechazamos la agresión militar de EE.UU.

Ataques de EE.UU. golpean Caracas y los estados de Miranda, Aragua y La Guaira

El objetivo del ataque estadounidense es apoderarse del petróleo y los minerales venezolanos.

🇬🇧Venezuelan Government Statement: We Reject U.S. Military Aggression

U.S. Strikes Hit Caracas and the States of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira

The goal of the U.S. attack is to seize Venezuelan oil and minerals.

🔗Sky News Arabia

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️

🇻🇪¿🇺🇸?Más imágenes de una aeronave supuestamente norteamericana bombardeando objetivos en Venezuela. En otros medios se dice que podría ser un AH-64 Apache.

🇬🇧More images of an aircraft, allegedly American, bombing targets in Venezuela. Other media outlets report it could be an AH-64 Apache.

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️

🇺🇸🇻🇪Según Fox News, fuentes oficiales han confirmado el ataque por parte de Estados Unidos sobre Venezuela.

🇬🇧According to Fox News, official sources have confirmed the attack by the United States on Venezuela.

🔗https://www.foxnews.com/video/5614615980001

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️

🇺🇸🇻🇪En estas imágenes se puede observar claramente la figura de al menos dos helicópteros de transporte CH-47G "Chinook". Si bien algunas cuentas en fuentes abiertas los relacionan con los ataques sobre la capital venezolana, éstos helicópteros son aeronaves de transporte pesadas, posiblemente utilizadas en la situación actual por el 160º Regimiento de Aviación de Operaciones Especiales (SOAR).

🇬🇧These images clearly show at least two CH-47G "Chinook" transport helicopters. While some open-source accounts link them to the attacks on the Venezuelan capital, these helicopters are heavy transport aircraft, possibly used in the current situation by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️