China floats battle barges in Taiwan invasion plans

Beijing, China Vast new Chinese barges spotted off the country's south coast could be used to land heavy equipment and thousands of personnel in a possible invasion of Taiwan, defence experts say.

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Beijing this week launched what it called "punishing" drills around Taiwan, sending jets and warships in a rehearsal for a blockade and assault on the self-ruled island.

And a memo from US Naval War College has revealed another potential weapon in Beijing's arsenal -- barges that can connect via extendable ramps to form an 820-metre-long (half-mile-long) pier from deep waters to land.

With retractable legs that can push into the sea floor, the Naval War College said they could create a platform for personnel and "hundreds of vehicles" an hour to land on Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.