How to take Taiwan: mainland China show imagines what a PLA attack may look like

Large-scale helicopter assault, long-range rockets and sophisticated electronic warfare by naval forces highlighted in evening documentary

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The latest episode of a documentary series broadcast in mainland China featured footage of PLA exercises and a full account of how a Taiwan landing would be achieved. Photo: CCTV

Liu Zhen

Published: 11:59am, 17 Sep 2024Updated: 5:50pm, 17 Sep 2024

A documentary broadcast on Chinese state television has given a glimpse of what an amphibious landing assault on Taiwan might look like.

The latest episode of documentary series Quenching on Monday night included footage of exercises by People’s Liberation Army’s ground forces, navy and a rocket brigade, as well as a full account of how a landing would be achieved.

PLA jet fighters were among the military hardware featured in a CCTV documentary broadcast in mainland China about what an operation to take control of Taiwan would involve. Photo: CCTV

Among the featured operations were a large-scale helicopter air assault by the ground force’s aviation unit, an aircraft carrier strike group’s anti-access electronic countermeasures, and a long-range rocket fire covering drill.

The 20-minute programme opened with a soldier expressing a nostalgic longing for a unified country and lamenting that the island of Taiwan and the mainland remain separated.

The programme then gave details of how reconnaissance and strike drones would be used to help the helicopters deliver landing troops to the island. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory, to be brought under mainland control by force, if necessary.

The documentary showed the PLA dispatching high altitude surveillance drones at the start of the simulated operation while helicopters flew near sea level to get frogmen as close as possible to the shore of the targeted landing areas.