PLA landing ship spotted off northern Taiwan ahead of major military drill

A People’s Liberation Army (PLA) landing ship has appeared unusually close to northern Taiwan, raising tensions ahead of the island’s biggest military exercise of the year.

The Type 072A tank landing ship was spotted on Friday as close as 60 nautical miles (111km or 69 miles) northeast of the Taiwanese city of Keelung, a key naval base and northern maritime gateway to Taipei, Taiwan’s defence ministry confirmed on Tuesday.

Chiu Chun-jung, chief of staff of Taiwan’s navy, said that the ship had entered a range that “could threaten critical infrastructure” on the island.

He said they had deployed surveillance and intelligence-gathering assets across various maritime zones to “closely monitor” any movements by the PLA vessels crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait or operating near the island.

“Regardless of the Type 072A’s specific activities – whether reconnaissance, familiarisation with sea routes, or participation in joint operations – these actions have all been detected and tracked by our forces. We will respond appropriately as the situation requires,” Chiu said.

The Taiwanese military concluded the PLA vessel’s rare approach was “grey-zone harassment” by Beijing, according to local media.

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