Exercise reports can mislead because forces may be scripted, denied permission to improvise, or deliberately placed at a disadvantage to test a particular idea. China's long absence from major combat leaves its performance uncertain, and other militaries have similarly little recent experience of peer-scale amphibious operations. The 1982 Falklands War is offered as the nearest modern example involving substantial amphibious forces rather than a raid or small maneuver. Both dismissals of the PLAN as a paper tiger and confident claims based on exercises deserve caution.
Notable Point · 24:58-27:00
Why exercises cannot settle China's amphibious readiness
Scripted exercises and the scarcity of modern peer-scale landings make confident judgments about Chinese amphibious performance premature.