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By Micah McCartney
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Satellite imagery appears to show a rare assembly of Chinese amphibious assault ships in the Yangtze River Estuary, suggesting a high state of readiness among forces that would likely play a central role in any invasion of Taiwan.
Why It Matters
China continues to expand the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), now the world’s largest by hull count, with more than 370 warships and submarines.
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Among them are landing dock ships, helicopter carriers, and specialized landing barges that analysts say would spearhead a cross-strait assault.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to pursue unification—by force if necessary. Chinese forces have intensified pressure on the island through large-scale military drills and near-daily air sorties across the Taiwan Strait’s median line, moves Taipei and Washington call destabilizing.
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Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment outside of office hours.
What To Know
Satellite photos taken on October 6, 2025, show multiple amphibious vessels moored in Shanghai’s Yangtze River Estuary, a key maritime logistics hub.
Open-source defense analyst MT Anderson identified a Type 071 Yuzhao-class landing platform dock (LPD)—a 25,000-ton transport ship capable of carrying landing craft, armored vehicles, and several hundred troops to a contested beachhead during an amphibious assault.
He also noted one of the PLAN’s four Type 075 Yushen-class landing helicopter docks (LHDs) at the same facility. The 075 can embark 60 armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), up to 800 troops, and 28 helicopters on its flight deck. “The fact these vessels were at port in Shanghai signals a high level of operational readiness,” Anderson wrote.
Opposite them was the PLAN’s only Type 076 Yulan-class assault ship, the CNS Sichuan, a larger derivative of the 075 that functions as a mini aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear for light fixed-wing aircraft.
Anderson observed that the ship’s temporary deck tent had been removed—an indication, he said, that sea trials may be imminent, marking “the next major leap in PLAN power projection.”
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Roughly 270 miles south, commercial satellite imagery showed three of China’s new “Shuiqiao” amphibious transport barges docked at the Yuhuan Naval Base in eastern Zhejiang province.
"Shuiqiao" means "water bridge", and each vessel reportedly features a 400-foot deployable road ramp extending from the bow, allowing tanks and trucks to disembark directly onto coastal roads beyond sandy beaches.
Taiwan's rugged terrain limits the number of beaches on which an invading PLA invasion source would be feasible, and these barges could deposit heavy vehicles beyond these beaches and directly onto coastal roads. However, experts caution that the Shuiqiao class remains few in number and would require substantial air and naval cover to operate effectively during a real amphibious assault.
What's Next
U.S. officials have said they believe President Xi has ordered the Chinese military to be capable of taking Taiwan by 2027, noting this does not mean he has chosen that or any other year to pull the trigger.
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