Beijing’s New Barges and the Taiwan Invasion that Never Was

What WWII’s Operation CAUSEWAY Can Teach Us about Deterrence and the PLA’s Invasion Plans

In recent months, open-source China watchers buzzed over the appearance of newly constructed “invasion barges” presumably intended for use in a Taiwan invasion scenario. Their potential to improve China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) ability to land follow-on forces during an amphibious assault represents a significant enhancement of the PLA’s power projection capability.

Commercial satellite imagery, closely analyzed by independent analysts on social media, identified at least five of these specialized vessels under construction at the Guangzhou Shipyard. Known as the Shuiqiao-class (literally “water bridge”) these ships are impressive purpose-built engineering solutions to close a PLA gap in rapidly offloading combat power in amphibious operations. The class comprises three different variants (Shuiqiao-110, Shuiqiao-135 and Shuiqiao-185), each outfitted with hydraulic stabilizing legs, interconnecting bridges and a bow ramp. When deployed, the lead vessel beaches and links together in sequence with the other two to form a modular causeway system that enables rapid offloading of heavy rolling stock such as military trucks and armored vehicles. When fully assembled, the Shuiqiao-class causeway could extend nearly half a mile from the shoreline into deeper waters, creating an improvised port where none exists.