How are they going to do that with puny naval transportation? Instead of missile exercise they should built LST, LPD by hundred that should send clear and loud message. I mean they can do it is simple design and there are hundred of shipyard inland that can do it . Why they didn't do it I don't know? It wouldn't cost that much. So all those posturing is just empty gesture.
Not to get into the specific details, as I am not a general or anything like that, there are certain principles to look at.
1)
Air power - how the invasion of Taiwan by the mainland will happen if it happens, it will start with an air battle. That is the general principle of air war, what is the most important battle? The first battle in air war is the important battle. Once you win that, then one side has air superiority, which means the other side troops cannot really move.
2)
Landing - the PLA still has to land troops to invade Taiwan successfully, so they must do one or all of these things:
i) establish a beachhead, then breakout
ii) capture an field or airport, fly in the troops
iii) capture a port to just unload troops via the sea lanes
Here we have to expect the James Bond kind of stuff of secret infiltration to facilitate the invasion process, using frogmen, spies, etc. Taiwan being an island is both a strength and a weakness. There would be a lot of coast line to be aware of.
3)
Outlying islands - essentially they are forward posts, and they have military value. The PLAAF putting up so many planes around those islands with feeble responses, kind of shows that the military situation has changed, that those islands can be taken at any time. Going back into the past, Deng Xiaoping was rumoured or reported (cannot remember now the details), that a Taiwan crisis will have the PLA take the islands in the middle of the strait first, before any attempts at an actual invasion. That kind of makes sense. Dismember the islands first, rouse up military movements, then plan the attack. Seems like a step by step process. The dismemberment comes first. The PLAAF flying the planes like they are kind of shows that that could be an area for invasion, from the south. We don't know. PLA could come from north, the middle, and south.
4) Actual battles on Taiwan, this is where being an island is a disadvantage, there is no guerilla war. If the PLA manages to control the roads, the ports, the airports, then they could hide in the mountains as long as they want. Eventually, they would be killed, captured, or starved to death.
Once Taiwan loses the opening air battle to PLAAF, no matter when this happens, next year or 100 years from now, it will not look good, the chances of Taiwan surviving the war.
The Americans are not really a game changer anymore more.
I've been searching the net for answer and finally found one in Pakistan Defense Forum...LOL as always thanks for your hard work.