China mobilizes civilian ferries for Taiwan invasion drills

TAIPEI -- China's long-standing threats to invade Taiwan would require the biggest amphibious invasion in human history -- and analysts say recent military activities, including exercises using commercial ferries, appear designed to practice exactly that.

One of the most-discussed missing pieces to the puzzle for planners in Beijing is amphibious lift capability -- the ability to move equipment and personnel across the Taiwan Strait and unload off the main island's rugged coast.