Landing ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy hold multi-course realistic combat exercises in an undisclosed area in the South China Sea in the spring of 2024. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television

A group of landing ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held live-fire exercises in the South China Sea, with analysts saying on Sunday that the flexible vessels capable of carrying tanks in amphibious landing missions are important in the safeguarding of China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.

The PLANS Danxiashan, the PLANS Daiyunshan and the PLANS Wanyangshan recently formed a task force and conducted multi-course realistic combat exercises in an undisclosed area in the South China Sea, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

According to the report and publicly available information, the PLANS Danxiashan is a Type 072III tank landing ship, while the PLANS Daiyunshan and the PLANS Wanyangshan are Type 072A tank landing ships.

During the drills, the vessels undertook training courses including live-fire shooting against sea mine targets and side-by-side mooring, CCTV reported.

China has built a large number of Type 072 series tank landing ships since the 1970s, including the original Type 072, the improved Type 072II, Type 072III, and Type 072A, Shanghai-based news outlet thepaper.cn reported.

While the PLA Navy has already commissioned larger amphibious vessels like the Type 071 comprehensive landing ships and the Type 075 amphibious assault ships, the smaller Type 072 series tank landing ships still have their uses, taking advantage of their large numbers and higher flexibility, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

Unlike their larger successors that release landing forces remotely from ashore, Type 072 landing ships are designed to operate in waters nearer to shore, ground on shore, then offload vehicles, troops, and cargos directly on shore, the expert said.

The recent exercises came at a time when the Philippines had made repeated provocations over Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) and Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island)  under the instigation of the US.

Analysts noted that Type 072's characteristics make them particularly useful in the safeguarding of China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights over islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

Type 072 series landing ships have participated in multiple major military operations, including the building of the maritime observation station on Yongshu Jiao (also known as Yongshu Reef) in the Nansha Qundao (also known as the Nansha Islands) in the South China Sea in 1988, thepaper.cn reported.

Similarly, the vessels also play important roles in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and development interests in the Taiwan question, observers said.