A series of landing Bailey bridge barges built for the People's Liberation Army Navy were observed in 2025. [1]
The design of the barges incorporates a Bailey bridge. [2] Three of the barges were observed in the Guangzhou Shipyard in January 2025. [2]
The barges have been speculatively linked to a potential future invasion of Taiwan by China as part of Chinese reunification. [2] The website Naval News wrote that a consensus among naval analysts is that the barges would be used for amphibious landings and that the barges "[allow] China to pick new landing sites and complicate attempts to organize defences" and could land tanks to a costal road instead of heavily defended beaches. [2]
A 19-second video of the barges on Zhanjiang beach was uploaded to WeChat but subsequently disappeared. [1] A March 2025 article in The Guardian described them as Shuqiao ships. [2] Andrew Erickson, a professor of strategy at the China Maritime Studies Institute said that the barges were "purpose-built for a Taiwan invasion scenario" and that they embodied "the seriousness with which China under [President] Xi is pursuing absorption of Taiwan by any means possible". [1]
