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Thousands Of Ships, Millions Of Troops: China Is Assembling a Huge Fleet For War With Taiwan
https://www.forbes.com ^ | Jul 27, 2021 | David AxeForbes Staff

Posted on 07/27/2021 7:14:19 AM PDT by RomanSoldier19

To have any chance of conquering Taiwan, China might need to transport as many as two million troops across the rough 100 miles of the Taiwan Strait and land them under fire at the island’s 14 potential invasion beaches or 10 major ports.

That’s a lot of people—far, far more than the People’s Liberation Army Navy can haul in its 11 new amphibious ships. To transport the bulk of the invasion force, Beijing almost certainly would take up into naval service thousands of civilian ships.

To that end, the Chinese Communist Party has created a legal and bureaucratic framework for taking over control of commercial shipping. Meanwhile, naval engineers have begun modifying key vessels to make them better assault ships.

All that is to say, the vast flotilla that would be both the vehicle for China’s assault on Taiwan—and the biggest target of Taiwanese forces and their allies—is taking shape.

“If the PLA invasion force was a million or more men, then we might expect an armada of thousands or even tens of thousands of ships to deliver them, augmented by thousands of planes and helicopters,” Ian Easton, an analyst with the Project 2049 Institute in Virginia, wrote in a recent report.

The PLAN’s eight modern Type 071 landing docks and three Type 075 big-deck assault ships together can haul around 25,000 troops. A drop in the bucket. To transport the balance of the invasion force, the Chinese navy can take up around 2,000 large commercial vessels crewed by around 650,000 mariners.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ccp; china; invasion; taiwan
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1 posted on 07/27/2021 7:14:19 AM PDT by RomanSoldier19
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To: RomanSoldier19

Meh. When Biden was selected, Taiwan’s fate was sealed.


2 posted on 07/27/2021 7:15:16 AM PDT by brownsfan (Term limits! Without term limits, we are doomed.)
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To: RomanSoldier19

And Taiwan puts a couple missiles into Three Gorges Dam. Well Played China!


3 posted on 07/27/2021 7:16:55 AM PDT by IllumiNaughtyByNature (Polls are no longer designed to measure public sentiment but to influence it.)
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To: RomanSoldier19

I can’t possibly see how an invasion by sea involving hundreds of transport vehicles and millions of troops could be carried out against a modern country armed with contemporary military technology. You’d have to wipe out their defenses first. And you certainly wouldn’t achieve any level of surprise.


4 posted on 07/27/2021 7:18:29 AM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham ("God is a spirit, and man His means of walking on the earth.")
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To: RomanSoldier19

There won’t be a war.

Biden will hand over Taiwan without a fight, or even lifting a finger, other than his middle finger at republicans for pointing out his lack of action.

Perhaps he’ll write a harshly worded letter to the Chinese, but, but that would be to the Chinese in Taiwan.


5 posted on 07/27/2021 7:19:04 AM PDT by adorno
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To: IllumiNaughtyByNature
And Taiwan puts a couple missiles into Three Gorges Dam. Well Played China!

Big wars are tough when you've got a single point of failure.

6 posted on 07/27/2021 7:19:06 AM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham ("God is a spirit, and man His means of walking on the earth.")
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To: RomanSoldier19

Taiwan will be invaded before January 2025. Why? If you have to ask you haven’t been paying attention.


7 posted on 07/27/2021 7:19:15 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Trump: "They're After You. I'm Just In The Way")
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To: RomanSoldier19

i think the chins will need those troops to clean up the three gorges dam mess they will face if they try it...


8 posted on 07/27/2021 7:21:06 AM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. P144:1)
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To: brownsfan

I’ve heard that China claims they have jurisdiction or ownership of Taiwan. I don’t know enough of the history of the situation. Does the UN or any international authority recognize Chinese control of Taiwan?


9 posted on 07/27/2021 7:21:18 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: RomanSoldier19

Why invade when a tight blockade would bring Taiwan to its knees in weeks.


10 posted on 07/27/2021 7:21:57 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: IllumiNaughtyByNature

Even if it is compromised by structural inadequacies, it’s gonna take more than a “couple of missiles” to take out Three Gorges.
It will take something like a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (or three) or maybe a nuke. Anything less will just leave some scorch marks.
Unless they have some sort of specialist dam-busting weapons like the Barnes-Wallace bouncing bomb.


11 posted on 07/27/2021 7:22:21 AM PDT by Little Ray (Civilization runs on a narrow margin. What sustains it is not magic, but hard work. )
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To: RomanSoldier19

Taiwan probably has quite a few teams to be delivered or already in place to start killing off the Red leadership if the Reds try to invade. The Red infrastructure may be very vulnerable as well. Remember a few years ago when a few well placed shots knocked out sizable parts of our power grid? Also, you don’t have to blow up a dam if you can get inside and drain the oil from the turbines. The dam is still intact but it may take years to replace the turbines once they seize. Just a few ideas...


12 posted on 07/27/2021 7:23:24 AM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: RomanSoldier19

Will Biden be helping the CCP ?


13 posted on 07/27/2021 7:24:56 AM PDT by dforest (huh)
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To: Little Ray

That may be true but just consider how poorly designed and manufactured things are in China.


14 posted on 07/27/2021 7:25:16 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Trump: "They're After You. I'm Just In The Way")
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To: RomanSoldier19

And the Biden puppet masters don’t give a damn!


15 posted on 07/27/2021 7:25:17 AM PDT by G Larry (Force the Universities to use their TAX FREE ENDOWMENTS to pay off Student loan debt!!!)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

“Does the UN or any international authority recognize Chinese control of Taiwan?”

Good question. I know how Taiwan was formed. I know that it has operated as an independent state for quite a while.

I suspect that even if the UN had recognized Taiwan in the past, the current economic and political environment would encourage the UN to recognize Chinese control of Taiwan.

I believe China will exercise that control before the end of Biden/Harris’ term.


16 posted on 07/27/2021 7:25:55 AM PDT by brownsfan (Term limits! Without term limits, we are doomed.)
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To: adorno

If Biden does that, he will be removed from office and will need a place to hideout.


17 posted on 07/27/2021 7:25:55 AM PDT by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

the Olympics committee won’t let Taiwan have a flag but Paletine gets one.


18 posted on 07/27/2021 7:26:27 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (Lean on Joe Biden to follow Donald Trump's example and donate his annual salary to charity.)
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To: IllumiNaughtyByNature

It’s 1,000 air miles from Taiwan to the 3 Gorges Dam. A subsonic missile attack would put the missile(s) in the air for about AN HOUR AND A HALF. So do you think China may be able to shoot them down since they ONLY have an hour an half to figure it out????


19 posted on 07/27/2021 7:26:48 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: RomanSoldier19

Taiwan has enough anti-air and anti-ship missiles to sink pretty much anything China tries to sail or fly over there.

The PRC would win, but it would be the winning entry for “Pyrrhic” victory for the next millennium.

They will use economics, PR, and fifth columnists to discourage Taiwan until they give up on their own.


20 posted on 07/27/2021 7:27:41 AM PDT by wbarmy (I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.)
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