TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China's military on Sunday (Oct. 10), Taiwan's National Day, released a video showing troops invading a beach across the Taiwan Strait in southern China.
On Sunday, the Weibo account for the CCTV-7 National Defense and Military Channel released a video shot in "recent days" showing the 73rd Group Army conducting beach landing exercises to "explore the combat mode of long-distance landings by light assault boats." The post claimed the landing craft featured in the video are faster and can carry more troops.
It claimed the simulated assault included multiple teams of boat specialists, "shock troops," and sappers. According to the post, the troops landed on the beach in multiple waves and "performed combat tasks at different stages."
(Weibo, PLA Daily screenshot)
In the video, troops can be seen marching out of their barracks and piling their gear into dozens of small boats that plow toward an unidentified sandy beach. The camera quickly cuts to some sort of aquatic drone skimming over the water as an airborne drone drops an object from above.
The troops toss smoke grenades and storm the beach. Once on land, they can be seen planting small red flags as they advance.
Drone dropping object. (Weibo, CCTV-7 screenshot)
The soldiers are shown firing live ammunition and setting off live explosives. Troops dig a trench and set up a mortar position before a second wave hits the beach.
Soldiers can be seen taking up positions in a wooded area and setting off smoke signals. The video ends with a third wave of troops pouring onto the shore.
(Weibo, PLA Daily screenshot)
Although no mention of Taiwan's National Day was made, the video was likely timed to send a message to the Taiwan government to show Beijing's determination to annex the country "by force if necessary." Given that Tropical Storm Kompasu was already starting to bring wind and rain to the region on Sunday and skies were sunny in the video, it was probably shot on a previous day.
(Weibo, CCTV-7 screenshot)
