‘Ro-Ro’ Ships Could Carry China’s Army to Taiwan in the Next War

China has ramped up its production of roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ships that could be used during an assault on Taiwan.

A new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) China Power Project has said that China’s rising production of ro-ro vessels could signal a dual strategy to use these vessels in an attack on Taiwan. Political and military leaders in Taipei have spent decades trying to deter an amphibious invasion across the Taiwan Strait.

The roll-on/roll-off ships transport cars, trucks, buses, and trailers to offshore locations. The ro-ro vessels have become a pivotal means of transporting electric vehicles manufactured in China to locations worldwide as the demand for Chinese electric vehicles has grown. However, China’s military strategists have mulled over the idea of using ro-ros during an attack on Taiwan.

“While ro-ros are generally innocuous, Chinese military planners have taken note of their dual-use capabilities and are making use of the ships to enhance the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” said the CSIS report.

Beijing passed a law in 2016 that makes it mandatory for Chinese maritime companies to assist with “military operations in defending national interests.” The company’s ro-ros could be called on during an attack on Taiwan.

While there are over 700 ro-ro ships worldwide, Chinese companies operate fewer than 100 of those ships. An analysis by authors of the CSIS said that Chinese shipyards may deliver up to 200 ro-ros between 2023 and 2026, a significant uptick in building these types of vessels, which have dual-use capabilities.

“In other words, the PLA lacks sufficient military hardware to transport large numbers of troops and equipment to key theaters. Most notably, the PLA would need to mobilize additional equipment to conduct a large-scale joint island landing campaign against Taiwan,” said the CSIS report.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told Newsweek that the ro-ros could be used in different ways.

“There are two scenarios to consider here; peacetime gray zone, and wartime contingency. In the first instance, the use of ro-ro vessels for gray zone would be rather limited, and in this case, it’s worth mentioning that any civilian vessel of specific utility, not just ro-ro, can be utilized for such contingencies,” Koh said.

He added that the ro-ros could be used for building a sea bridge between the mainland and Taiwan during an attack by Beijing.

“In times of war, these ships are meant to: serve as follow-on forces transport across the strait following the establishment of a secure beach-head, which includes of course, Taiwanese ports that are seized and controlled by PLA forces on the onset of invasion; and to sustain the forces fighting on Taiwan through a ‘sea bridge’ to the mainland, from where the PLA can draw on rear logistics support,” Koh said.

The ro-ros can cover the gap in the PLA’s current naval capability to sustain an amphibious vehicle during an attack on Taiwan.

“On the whole, besides the obvious need for these kinds of vessels to conduct sustainment in times of conflict, the fact that Beijing invests in ro-ro vessels is also to do with the envisaged shortfalls in specialized military sealift capabilities, such as those large amphibious assault landing vessels of the Type-071 and Type-075. And a major enabler in this whole enterprise is the People’s Republic of China’s vast, highly productive shipbuilding industry.” Koh added.

The ro-ro ships may appear to be the perfect approach for Beijing’s naval strategy against Taiwan during a war, but on closer look, these vessels will also become a target. The CSIS report has alluded to the loophole in using the ro-ros as they will become an easy target by “attacking aircraft and warships armed with anti-ship missiles,” and other experts have highlighted the same problem.

“The ro-ro vessels pose a threat in wartime insofar as the Chinese are able to provide sustainable air and naval protective cover for these ships. Beijing is able to ensure that this fleet of ro-ro vessels are themselves survivable and sustainable against enemy strikes at ports, where they’re homeported at, and the supporting shipyard infrastructure,” Koh said.

“In other words, these ro-ro vessels pose a threat in wartime so long as Beijing is able to maintain a secure ‘sea bridge’ across the Taiwan Strait; that is, naval and air dominance in the theater that can secure PRC forces against enemy action,” Koh added.