Xi Jinping has repeatedly laid claims to Taiwan (Image: Getty)
is reportedly building a fleet of landing ships that could be used in an invasion of .
The barges have been likened to “Mulberry harbours” that were built for the Normandy landings in 1944.
Naval News reported that at least three of the new craft have been observed at Guangzhou Shipyard in southern .
They are said to be equipped with a 120-metre bridge that would allow tanks and other military vehicles to bypass sandy or rocky beaches and reach key coastal roads.
China has carried out numerous naval drills in waters close to Taiwan (Image: Getty)
The landing platforms are also believed to have pillars that can be lowered into the water to stabilise the vessels in stormy seas.
Furthermore, their design includes open platforms that allow other ships to dock and unload.
The barges would greatly increase Beijing’s options for launching an invasion of the island state.
Taiwan’s military has up until now assumed that an invasion would have to take place at a number of strongly defended ports.
However, the new amphibious landing craft would enable army to launch an invasion from multiple points, thinning out defences.
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“If these barges have these long roadway bridging systems on them that can go over the beaches to firmer land further back, that creates a new and interesting problem,” Eric Gomez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, told the .
“The areas that the Taiwanese military would be expected to defend suddenly become much more numerous.
“It could put a lot of stress on their defensive ability.”
He added that the landing craft would be vulnerable to anti-ship ossicles and could end up being “sitting ducks”.
China has repeatedly asserted its claims to sovereignty over Taiwan, and has stepped up both military and political pressure on the island state.
said “reunification” was inevitable in his New Year’s message broadcast on state TV.
“The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family,” he said.
“No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification.”