Zuo Feng, a frogman of the PLA Navy’s minesweeper unit, echoes the sentiment.
“If war broke out and the conditions were too difficult to safely remove the naval mines in actual combat, we will use our own bodies to clear a safe pathway for our landing forces,” Zuo said.
The documentary features the personal stories of dozens of PLA soldiers across different services and locations, shows footage of military exercises, especially around Taiwan, and reiterates “the centennial goal of the PLA must be realised”.
Beijing regards self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province and insists it would never renounce the use of force to take it back. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but many are opposed to a change of status quo by force.
Concerns about a conflict over the island have risen as cross-strait ties and relations between Beijing and Washington have worsened.
Some observers, such as former US Indo-Pacific Command chief Philip Davidson, have said the PLA is likely to make the move by 2027, the deadline of the PLA’s centennial goal of becoming a world-class military, a period named the Davidson window.
The documentary series offers a view – albeit restricted – of the PLA’s operation scenarios, such as seizing air superiority, sea control and information tech suppression before launching an amphibious landing.
Wang Xinjie, a member of the PLA’s amphibious assault group, is seen practising a group charge towards the beach in an amphibious vehicle, with fire cover from bombers, land and ship-launched missiles, rockets and helicopters.
“I would like to go and see the other side of the strait,” Wang said. “I have been preparing for that day.”
Li Yuantong, who at the age of 27 is said to be one of the PLA Air Force’s youngest air mission commanders, invented a “double-bombing” tactic to effectively destroy hidden underground targets, according to the documentary.
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