China’s navy includes civilian ferry in military transport drill
- Exercise meant to test the ability of the PLA and non-military vessels to work together, state broadcaster says
- The People’s Liberation Army has been looking at ways to get supplies and troops to front lines more efficiently
State broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday that the Chang Shan Dao ferry transported equipment and personnel between Lushun New Port to the Port of Dalian on the Bohai Sea to develop the troops’ ability to transport supplies at sea.
“This ferry delivery exercise aimed to explore and test the efficiency of the combined forces’ long-distance supply operations, to clear barriers in the joint military-local logistics mechanism, and to optimise coordination,” it said.
The report did not say when the exercise took place, but according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic the Chang Shan Dao sailed between ports in the city of Dalian on July 19.
Amphibious warfare would be central to an attack on Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its territory.