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Edith Mao

A fleet of large barges in the People’s Liberation Army has been assigned hull numbers, suggesting the vessels have entered service in what would be Beijing’s latest move to deter Taiwan militarily.
Internet users spotted three advanced specialised island-landing vessels from the “Dong Gong” series docked at a beach in mainland China in June, each bearing a hull number in the sequence 401 to 403.
The markings mean the ships serve in the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, according to Song Zhongping, a former Chinese military instructor, who said that “the character ‘dong’ also conveys the concept of the East Sea Fleet”.
The character dong means east while gong refers to engineering.
Drone footage circulating online showed the barges equipped with four, six and eight legs, respectively. During landing, their columns are expected to extend to the seabed to lift their craft clear of the water and hold it firmly in position.

The midsection of each hull is fitted with an extended bridge deck, while the bow is equipped with cable-stayed bridge towers.
These towers are used to connect multiple deck sections and form a pathway measuring about 820 metres (2,690 feet) to land, according to a social media post by Junwujun, a military enthusiast.
“This type of barge was built to enable faster amphibious force deployment,” Song said. “By using the vessel’s own extending components to solve the ‘final kilometre’ problem, it enhances operational reliability and improves rapid-response capabilities.”
Satellite imagery of such landing craft at a shipyard in Guangzhou – in the southern mainland province of Guangdong – began to circulate on social media in 2023, when the hull numbers had not yet been painted on.
Then, in March this year, photos and videos appeared showing three large self-elevating barges lined up end to end from the shore and extending about 1km (0.62 mile) offshore near Zhanjiang, also in Guangdong.
In its 2024 report on China’s military power, the US Defence Department stated that Beijing possessed the world’s largest navy by number of ships, with a battle force exceeding 370 vessels and submarines.
The Pentagon said the US had invested heavily in a substantial number of landing ships and medium landing craft and suggested that the PLA probably believed it had sufficient amphibious assault capacity to carry out large-scale attacks against Taiwan.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.


Relations across the Taiwan Strait have plummeted since the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party came to power in Taipei in 2016. Since then, Beijing has ramped up its efforts at military deterrence targeting the island.
Taiwan is largely mountainous, with mountain ranges covering at least 70 per cent of the island. While its coastline stretches for more than 1,560km, most of it is deemed unsuitable for conventional landing operations.
The area from New Taipei to Keelung Harbour, as well as nearly all the island’s eastern coastline, consists largely of inaccessible sheer cliffs and steep bluffs.
Even locations where landings are theoretically possible – such as narrow beaches – often lie alongside densely populated residential areas, farmland or fish ponds. This presents obstacles for rapid military deployment.
According to Song, the barge fleet would play a role throughout an amphibious assault operation.
“At the point of departure, whether from a basic field port or a temporary facility with limited infrastructure, these amphibious landing ships are essential for quickly loading equipment needed for action,” he said.
“Once in the theatre of operations, such vessels would be relied upon to rapidly transfer heavy equipment such as armoured vehicles and tanks from their well decks to shore using integrated landing craft.”
These, Song added, would allow for “swift beach assaults and a rapid inland push”.


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Advanced island-landing vessels built to ‘enable faster amphibious force deployment’, analyst says, as PLA steps up pressure on Taiwan


Advanced island-landing vessels built to ‘enable faster amphibious force deployment’, analyst says, as PLA steps up pressure on Taiwan.


Taiwan

United States

The Pentagon (US Department of Defence)

Chinese navy barge fleet now in service as hull numbers on 3 confirm deployment: analyst

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Advanced island-landing vessels built to ‘enable faster amphibious force deployment’, analyst says, as PLA steps up pressure on Taiwan

Advanced island-landing vessels built to ‘enable faster amphibious force deployment’, analyst says, as PLA steps up pressure on Taiwan