Taiwan conducts drills to counter Chinese amphibious landings

The Republic of China Navy and Marine Corps deployed AAV7 amphibious vehicles (an example pictured above) in the drills to boost operational preparedness to counter Chinese amphibious landings on Taiwan beaches in the event of a conflict. (BAE Systems)

The Republic of China (RoC) Armed Forces have initiated conducting drills to boost operational preparedness to counter Chinese amphibious landings on Taiwan beaches in the event of a conflict.

According to Taiwan's state-owned Central News Agency (CNA), the RoC Navy's 151st Fleet and the RoC Marine Corps performed an amphibious landing drill near Kaohsiung's Sizihwan beach, which Taiwan identified as a potential landing point for Chinese forces in the event of a conflict.

The exercise – which was a simulation of a Chinese military beach landing – started with the deployment of three AAV7 amphibious landing vehicles from a Chung Ho-class tank landing vessel off the coast of Kaohsiung and protected by special forces-operated attack boats, the CNA said.

The first AAV7 landed on Sizihwan beach north of Kaohsiung Harbor and used a MK154 mine clearance launcher to remove mines and other obstacles on the beach. It was followed by two other vehicles, which lingered on the beach for a few minutes before all three AAV7s returned to the tank landing vessel, the CNA added.

According to CNA, this was the first time such a landing exercise was held in Sizihwan, and the drill would be used by the RoC Armed Forces to better organise the deployment of its units and avoid the possibility of Chinese forces conducting amphibious assaults.