So predicts Stephen Green in this piece from PJ Media. "Communist China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) celebrates its centenary in 2027, the same year the CCP has indicated it will be ready to take Taiwan by force," he writes, noting that China is expanding its naval building efforts, including constructing "Mulberries"--floating, mobile harbors to allow for the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches.
Everybody seems to know that war is coming, particularly China's shipbuilders. "Anyone wondering what an invasion of Taiwan might look like now has a fresh visual clue," Naval News reported on Friday.
"A number of special and unusual barges, at least 3 but likely 5 or more, have been observed in Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China," the report continues. "These have unusually long road bridges extending from their bows. This configuration makes them particularly relevant to any future landing of PRC (People’s Republic of China) forces on Taiwanese islands."
- Related: "Suspected Chinese ship loiters off north Taiwan for 5 days"--Taiwan News.
A suspected Chinese freighter has been detected off north Taiwan for nearly a week, raising concerns about undersea cable sabotage.
On Jan. 6, a Mongolian-flagged freighter with the Mandarin name “Bao Shun” was spotted taking an erratic course over subsea cables off north Taiwan, prompting the Coast Guard to drive the vessel away. The ship then moved north of Pengjia Islet and in and out of Taiwan's 22 km (12 NM) territorial waters in a southwest-northeast direction for five days, per Liberty Times.
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When confronted by a Coast Guard patrol boat on Jan. 6, the ship's captain claimed the main engine had malfunctioned and it would leave after repairs. It then turned to waters north of Keelung's Pengjia Islet but continued to circle in and out of Taiwan's territorial waters during the week, covering approximately 575 km (311 NM) and moving at an average speed of less than 5.5 kph (three knots).
On Sunday, the Bao Shun changed course to the southwest at 1 p.m. By 8:36 p.m., the vessel had reached the edge of Taiwan's contiguous zone 44 km (24 NM) from the northern coast and continued to sail southwest along the outer perimeter of Taiwan's territorial waters.
DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) was cited by FTV News on Sunday as saying that the Bao Shun's path is related to Taiwan's 10 subsea cables. Wang said Taiwan and other countries, especially the Baltic nations, are monitoring the matter.
- Related: "Half of Japan firms prepared in event of Taiwan contingency"--Japan Times (h/t Vox Day).
Another 12 percent said they did not have plans but saw the need for consideration, according to the survey, which covered a range of industries and included companies such as Toyota Motor Corp and ANA Holdings Inc.
There is a way Taiwan could protect itself from a large naval invasion from China. In 1946 the US Government conducted Operation Crossroads...including the Baker Test which detonated a nuclear device undersea and studied the effects on ships placed around ground zero. Taiwan...if it had (or has?) nuclear weapons...could do the same...a "ring of fire" around the island. I believe that a country's boundary extends out 20 miles from the shoreline so, in theory, Taiwan would be detonating the weapon on Taiwanese territory...and not in international waters or on another sovereign nation. The latter is important because China could not make the case that it was subjected to a nuclear attack. Taiwan certainly has the right to detonate a nuke on it's own soil for defensive purposes.
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