Screenshot: NBC News<\/p>\n
China has reportedly been making significant preparations for a full-scale invasion of Taiwan, according to The Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n This preparation includes not only military vessels but also an unusual incorporation of civilian ferries, hinting at a large-scale invasion strategy.<\/p>\n China carried out a two-day large-scale exercise involving 111 aircraft and 46 naval vessels around Taiwan, signaling a sharp escalation in tensions across the Taiwan Strait, according to VOA News<\/a>.<\/p>\n It further vowed to intensify its measures until \u201ccomplete reunification\u201d is accomplished.<\/p>\n According to Taiwan\u2019s National Defense Ministry, this marked one of the most provocative maneuvers in recent years, with 82 Chinese military aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, edging dangerously close to the territorial boundaries defined by Taiwan.<\/p>\n The exercises, described by Chinese state media as a \u201cpunishment\u201d for Taiwan\u2019s newly inaugurated president, Lai Ching-te, come amid growing concerns over increased military posturing by Beijing.<\/p>\n Channel News Asia<\/a> reported:<\/p>\n China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory,\u00a0carried out the military drills<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday and Friday,\u00a0calling them \u201cpunishment\u201d<\/a>\u00a0after Lai\u2019s inauguration speech on Monday which Beijing called another push for the island\u2019s formal independence.<\/p>\n China has repeatedly lambasted Lai as a \u201cseparatist\u201d. Lai rejects Beijing\u2019s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan\u2019s people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks but has been rebuffed.<\/p>\n Speaking at a meeting of his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the southern city of Tainan, Lai called on China to \u201cshare the heavy responsibility of regional stability with Taiwan\u201d, according to comments provided by his party.<\/p>\n Just days after China concluded significant military drills around Taiwan, a U.S. congressional delegation led by Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, arrived on the island.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are moving forward on those weapons systems,\u201d Rep. Michael McCaul said at a news conference in Taipei.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019d like to see them faster, but they are forthcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Lai and I have always had a very sobering and yet very direct conversation about the threat that this island faces from its neighbor to the north,\u201d McCaul added.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China\u2019s Foreign Ministry, issued a stark caution to the United States, urging it to \u201cseriously abide by the one-China principle\u201d and avoid facilitating visits by congressional members to Taiwan. Wang explicitly stated that ignoring such directives would lead to \u201cconsequences,\u201d according<\/a> to Sky News.<\/p>\n Now, The Telegraph is reporting that China is reportedly preparing an \u201carmada\u201d of ferries and civilian vessels for a potential invasion of Taiwan.<\/p>\n Telegraph<\/a> reported:<\/p>\n China<\/a>\u00a0is preparing an armada of ferries and civilian vessels to invade Taiwan as Beijing steps up its pressure campaign against the island nation.<\/p>\n While the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA)\u00a0lacks the numbers of amphibious landing<\/a>\u00a0craft needed to stage the sort of invasion seen during the D-Day landings, it could bridge the gap with civilian vessels, including dozens of gigantic roll-on, roll-off ferries that can each carry hundreds of armoured vehicles.<\/p>\n \u201cAmphibious landings under fire are among\u00a0the most difficult of military manoeuvres,<\/a>\u201d said Ray Powell, the director of SeaLight, a Stanford University project focused on grey zone activities in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n Civilian ferries \u201cwould normally be poor choices for such a mission\u201d but could be used to transport troops en masse across the Taiwan strait after its coastal defences are destroyed, or to overwhelm the island\u2019s military \u201cwith sheer mass,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n On May 26, 2024, the U.S. Navy\u2019s formidable 100,000-ton aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, assigned to the US Navy\u2019s 7th Fleet, has made a significant transit through the South China Sea for \u201croutine operations\u201d as Chinese military activities in the area began to subside.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the South China Sea, May 26, 2024. Theodore Roosevelt, flagship of Carrier Strike Group Nine, is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy\u2019s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region,\u201d \u00a0said an official statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n NBC News\u2019 Ken Dilanian discussed with a geopolitics expert who suggested that a real invasion might conclude before the U.S. has an opportunity to react.<\/p>\n WATCH:<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n The post China is Reportedly Preparing Large Military Fleet to Invade Taiwan \u2014 Expert Predicts Invasion Could Conclude Within an Hour<\/a> appeared first on The Gateway Pundit<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Screenshot: NBC News China has reportedly been making significant preparations for a full-scale invasion of Taiwan, according to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n