The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 20th, 2025: China's Massive 'Invasion Barges' Spotted & Israel Unleashes On Gaza Following Ceasefire Collapse
Thu, 20 Mar 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, China has unveiled their new "D-Day style" amphibious assault barges, an ominous sign regarding their potential plans to invade Taiwan. Later in the show, Israel unleashes a new wave of airstrikes overnight across Gaza following the collapse of their fragile ceasefire with Hamas, as the IDF prepares to ramp up ground operations in the battered enclave. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are China's new amphibious assault barges?
Es ist Donnerstag, der 20. März. Willkommen bei der PDB-Afternoon Bulletin. Ich bin Mike Baker. Eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Lass uns kurz sprechen. Zuerst einmal. China's new amphibious assault barges are sparking fresh concerns that the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, is in the early stages, or at some stage, planning a potential full-scale invasion of Taiwan.
Chapter 2: What concerns do these barges raise about Taiwan?
Später im Show eröffnet Israel eine neue Wende von Luftwaffen über Nacht über Gaza, nach dem Verlust ihres fragilen Sturzfeuers mit Hamas, als die IDF sich vorbereitet, die Grundoperationen im Enklaven aufzuräumen. Aber zuerst unser heutiges Nachhinein-Spotlight. Wir beginnen in China, wo die Regimes-Militär ihre neuen D-Day-Style-Assault-Berge entdeckt hat.
Chapter 3: How are the barges designed for invasion operations?
Das ist ein ominöses Zeichen für ihre möglichen Pläne, Taiwan zu invadieren. Fotos, die auf chinesischen Sozialen Medien-Plattformen vorgelegt wurden, zeigen, dass die chinesische Armee amphibische Landungs-Exerzise mit den Schiffen im Südchina-Sea durchführt hat.
Chapter 4: What capabilities do the new barges offer the Chinese military?
China hat bemerkt, dass sie mindestens fünf dieser Schiffe gebaut hat, die aus dem Portable Mulberry Harbors, die von Britannien entwickelt wurden, für die Normandie-Landungen in der Zeit der Zweiten Weltkriege, inspirieren. They've got unique features that analysts say are tailored to facilitate a ground invasion from the sea.
Chapter 5: How does this development affect Taiwan's defense?
According to a report from the Telegraph, each barge is equipped with an extendable road bridge that's about 400 feet long, roughly the length of one and a third football fields, die aus Wasser, Müll, Seewallen, Minen und anderen Beach-Obstakalen vorbeikommen können, um auf östlichen Straßen oder festem Boden außerhalb eines Beaches zu erreichen.
Chapter 6: What are the implications of these military advancements?
Das Design soll als flottierbaubare Pferd funktionieren, um Truppen, Tanks, Truppen und anderes schweres Equipment zu ermöglichen, direkt auf die Schuhe zu fliegen. Responding to the footage, an analyst with Naval News remarked, "...anyone wondering what an invasion of Taiwan might look like now has a fresh visual clue."
Chapter 7: What recent actions has Israel taken in Gaza?
Notably, the barges would allow the Chinese military to reach beaches previously considered unsuitable for amphibious landings without the need for first taking control of a Taiwanese port. Additionally, the barges feature stabilizing jack-up pillars for operation in poor weather conditions.
They can also be connected to one another in an end-to-end configuration, which was seen during the recent exercises, effectively creating a lengthy bridge to an enemy shoreline. Naval Analyst H.I. Sutton erhielt erst die Berge im Januar dieses Jahres, nachdem Fotos herausgefunden wurden von ihnen, die nahe der Guangzhou Schiffshalle in Südchina befanden sind.
Die Schiffe sind seit 2022 in Entwicklung, aber glauben, dass sie letztes Jahr auf nur ein paar Monaten aufgebaut wurden. Sutton sagte, sie hätten zahlreiche zivilisierte Anwendungen und erscheinen, so zu nennen, ausgestattet für einen amphibischen Angriff auf Taiwan.
While the recent footage of the barges was quickly scrubbed from social media, the fact that China allowed details of these vessels to leak to the public suggests the CCP wants to send a message to Taiwan and the West that they have the capabilities to swiftly take the island.
It's a noteworthy development, particularly since US military officials have long said that China lacks the capability to mount a ground invasion from the sea on Taiwan.
An analyst with the Council on Geostrategy explained to The Telegraph, "...a core problem for China in invading Taiwan is getting the necessary heavy equipment over the strait, and the solution to that problem is what we're seeing with these barges."
Traditionally, Taiwan has relied on its natural geography and limited beach landing sites for defense, but the reach of these new barges could change that equation, complicating Taiwan's defense strategies and allowing Beijing to bypass heavily defended ports.
While these developments don't signal an imminent invasion of course, given the CCP's continued military harassment of the island democracy, which escalated significantly throughout 2024, international observers are growing anxious. It comes amid concerns over the CCP's expanded naval fleet, which now has more ships than the US Navy.
And, I suppose an interesting factoid to wrap up this segment, since 2019, China has built the equivalent of the entire British Royal Navy, producing at least 39 more ships. Coming up next, Israel unleashes a new wave of airstrikes overnight across Gaza, following the collapse of their fragile ceasefire with Hamas. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin.
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