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Prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency and shared with the Pentagon earlier this year, the report says China is building more than 70 large roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferries by 2026. Five Eyes intelligence monitored around 30 of the vessels, which are capable of carrying tanks and troops in amphibious assaults, in People’s Liberation Army exercises in 2022.

Taiwan’s government sees the ferries as part of Beijing’s “expansionist intentions”, a narrative that has kept tensions in the region on a knife’s edge for several years.

Taiwan’s top envoy to Australia Douglas Hsu warns the slow game is essential to China’s strategy.

“We are also seeing increasing grey-zone tactics … such as cyber attacks. Civilian vessels or other dual-use facilities in [the] maritime domain are also part of China’s strategy,” he said per the ABC.

Satellite imagery released earlier this year showed ferries working alongside new landing docks designed to offload troops and vehicles directly onto beaches.

Geolocation technology revealed the video was shot on a public beach near Zhanjiang, which is home to China’s South Sea Fleet.

Defence experts consider the barges a “significant upgrade” to China’s amphibious capabilities, allowing for rapid unloading of tanks, armoured vehicles, and supplies.

The barges resemble World War II-era Mulberry harbours used in the liberation of Normandy, which has fuelled uneasy speculation about their role in a Taiwan contingency.

There is currently no equivalent system in Western militaries, which makes China’s innovation particularly stand out to those tuned into the incremental developments surrounding one of the most tense geopolitical situations on the planet.

“The direct insertion of troops into conflict is a belligerent act normally reserved for warships, yet the PLA appears intent to use commercial roll-on-roll-off vessels for this purpose,” an Indo-Pacific Command paper warned.

“China is undoubtedly building capabilities consistent with preparing for an invasion of Taiwan,” James Corera of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said per the ABC.

“China is building ports that sail — but they only matter if it can first win the seas. In short, landing docks and ferries are logistics multipliers.”

The US believes Xi Jinping has ordered the PLA to be invasion-ready by 2027, with mass troop deployment being the major hurdle.

Meanwhile, Beijing has dismissed the US assessment as hostile. Hu Bo, of Peking University, argued there are no intentions to be surmised from the satellite pictures of the rapidly expanding fleet.

“Preparation is not the same as intention,” he said. “The main reason China is strengthening its navy is very simple. It’s because of the US military threat.”

Nevertheless, China’s official position insists the issue with Taiwan is a domestic matter and has refused outsider input.

“The state shall never allow the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces to make Taiwan secede from China under any name or by any means.”