A People’s Liberation Army landing barge believed to be intended specifically for military operations near Taiwan has been spotted on the move, according to a video posted on Chinese social media.
The video, which surfaced on the internet on Monday, shows the self-elevating jack-up barge sailing in an unidentified body of water with its road ramp and signature eight struts raised.
While the date and location of the video are unknown, mountains and other vessels are visible in the background, indicating the moving craft was close to shore.
According to a Newsweek report, satellite images from October 6 showed the Dong Gong 401 – the character dong means east while gong refers to engineering – and its two sister vessels docked at the Yuhuan naval base in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
The Dong Gong 402 and 403 have six and four legs, respectively. All three are equipped with road ramps of differing lengths.
These landing barges, also known as shui qiao or “water bridge”, are viewed as part of the assets that the PLA has prepared for a potential amphibious assault on Taiwan, which would come under the direction of the Eastern Theatre Command.
