China Conducts Landing Drills with Foldable Piers, Likely Readying for Taiwan Invasion (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, January 2, 2026

The Chinese military seems to have conducted landing drills on its eastern and southern coasts using multiple fleets equipped with large foldable piers, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. As commercial ships, including large roll-on/roll-off vessels, or “Ro-Ro” ships, have also been deployed for the drills, Japan and the United States are highly concerned that China is strengthening its military capabilities to invade Taiwan with the help of private vessels.

The Yomiuri analyzed satellite images and public information on ships and also obtained information from sources close to the Japanese government.

Each fleet consists of three ships equipped with foldable piers. The vessels are lined up to form one 800-meter-long pier that is connected to a beach. According to a report from the U.S. Naval War College, the fleets likely belong to the Chinese military, and testing of the piers was first confirmed in 2025.

The satellite images obtained by the Yomiuri show fleets with foldable piers moored at a port in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, which faces the East China Sea, and at another port in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, in southern China on Sept. 29. The two ports are about 1,100 kilometers apart. It was not previously known that the Chinese military had multiple such fleets.

On July 3, three ships were spotted unfolding and connecting their piers to an island off Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Similar operations were confirmed several times between October and November. Near the island’s beach, construction was found for new facilities, leading the Japanese government to believe the area is a new military training ground and to take a closer look at the development.

On March 21, one of the fleets lined up off the shore of a training area in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, and unfolded its piers. In the sea around the training area, commercial Ro-Ro ships were active from March 23 to 27, it was learned from data from a system tracking marine traffic, such as ships’ locations and headings. These ships are specially designed to carry wheeled vehicles, such as trucks, and to allow them to drive on and off the boat. They may have been part of the fleet’s drill.

If China invades Taiwan, its military is expected to first launch a naval blockade of the island, secure air and naval supremacy by attacking port and air facilities, and conduct landings with amphibious assault ships.

The drills on Monday and Tuesday were premised on a naval blockade and landings by amphibious assault ships.

However, the Chinese military is likely short on large amphibious ships for invading Taiwan. It only owns 11 landing ships, including three amphibious assault ships, according to The Military Balance, an assessment by the United Kingdom’s International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“The PLAN [People’s Liberation Army Navy] continues to train with civilian roll-on/roll-off commercial vessels, which may indicate that the PLAN is seeking to mitigate this shortfall by incorporating dual-use civilian lift vessels,” reads a report by the U.S. Defense Department from Dec. 23. Another report, from February 2024 by the U.S. Naval War College, said that 15 Chinese commercial ships of this kind were involved in Chinese military activities.

The Chinese military is believed to be conducting drills that involve landing military equipment and supplies needed for an assault via mobile piers. These piers will allow Ro-Ro ships, which cannot enter shallow water, to unload cargo.