Taiwan, U.S. officials and experts say China has increased its ability to attack Taiwan suddenly through faster air and operations, new artillery systems and the speed of more alert amphibians and air assault forces.

A Taiwanese military official said the Chinese Air Force and missile devices that will play a role in the Taiwan invasion have been raised to be able to "transform from peacetime to war action at any time."

Other Taiwanese defense officials said that now, people's Liberation Forces' operations include training for amphibious forces near the departure port to conduct a Taiwan invasion, constantly preparing Army aviation units that will send them into Taiwan, and new rocket systems that can hit anywhere on the island.

Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the Indo-Pacific Command, said in February that "exercised fig leaves" could cover up the "fig leaves" prepared for attacks.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, PLA fighter jets enter Taiwan’s air defense identification zone more than 245 times a month, compared with less than 10 times a month five years ago. They also crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait 120 times a month, destroying the once informal borders.

"This alone can clearly demonstrate the escalation and ongoing pressure in the air domain imposed on Taiwan," a U.S. defense official said.

In October last year, China emphasized its powerful air force, flying 153 fighter jets near Taiwan.

Taiwan’s defense officials said enhanced air force was achieved because the PLA Air Force has “expanded the combat radius” using new fighter jets (J-10, J-11, J-16 and J-20) to reach Taiwan from indoor bases without refueling at the coastal base and using its Y-20 refueling aircraft.

The PLA Navy has also improved rapidly. It has been spinning warships since 2022, most commonly the 052d destroyer, which provides Chinese ships with the only way to enter the Pacific Ocean in the Gongke Strait and the Brazilian access.

Yang Tai Chi, former chief coach of the Taiwan Army Command, said that to attack Taiwan, Chinese warships "must sail into the Pacific Ocean very early" to avoid getting close to China once the war begins. Last year, PLA naval ships in the Western Pacific were rehearsed as this situation.

The U.S. defense official said the PLA Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard deployed about twelve ships around Taiwan. This is a combination of the harbors in nearby, meaning that the PLA navy and affiliated vessels can "enter the lockdown position within a few hours."

Taiwan’s defense officials said the presence of warships means China can launch air strikes without warning. Taipei closely monitors the type of helicopters that the PLA operates on destroyers, or amphibious assault ships of type 075, as they can fly into Taiwan. "With these naval deployments forward, they have shortened their distance and time from Taiwan," he added.

But military officials and experts say the PLA has made significant progress in other areas.

U.S. intelligence personnel said that in 2019 President Xi Jinping told the PLA that by 2027, PAPARO published the ability to invade Taiwan at the Sedona Forum. Papro said it appears to have achieved some goals, citing its rocket forces and satellite constellations have been inserted into space.

In 2015, XI began to reorganize the command structure and units of PLA. Experts say that since the visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who visited in 2022, the PLA has been conducting large drills around Taiwan that it is mastering the joint actions it serves, the main purpose of the reform.

Joshua Arostegui, a PLA expert at the U.S. Army War Academy, said that in the practice in response to Pelosi’s visit, the PLA carried out different operations on different days, such as rocket and missiles, naval and air force exercises.

"Fast forward the last Taiwan-focused exercise, and they are doing it at the same time," he said. "They are becoming more and more confident that they can command and control major actions...that scares everyone."

Some of the biggest changes have occurred in the PLA ground forces, which will be the majority of the hundreds of thousands of troops needed to occupy and occupy Taiwan.

Xi Jinping's reforms divided many large armies into smaller, more flexible units, including six amphibious weapons brigades deployed opposite Taiwan. "This reflects the importance PLA attaches to Taiwan and lays the foundation for actual combat capabilities," Arostegui said.

A Taiwanese military official said the PLA only needs "the minimum conversion time" to conduct the attack because it is "continuously trained in their bases and is already very close to the port where they landed".

Amphibian transport equipment, reconnaissance capabilities and a wider range of weapons are more independent. These include the PCH-191, a multiple rocket launcher with a range of 300 kilometers that can hit anywhere in Taiwan from the Chinese coast. It has similar coverage as a short range missile, but is cheaper, can reload faster, and is difficult to detect as it can be launched from a truck.

According to Taiwanese officials, Pelosi was used immediately after her visit, and these launchers are now widely deployed across the coast across Taiwan and are employed in every exercise directed by Taiwan.

Ground forces could use launchers in the initial bombing to disable Taiwan’s air defenses and amphibians to attack small Taiwan coastal units designed to target invading fleets.

"This feature can be used with it," said Dennis Blasko, a senior analyst at PLA. "With their help, amphibians or Army aviation units may start with more standing. It's hard to refute."

The region where PLA appears to have achieved its greatest success is “in the development and integration of the joint fire strike movement.”

However, it is in certain areas, especially military leadership and decision-making. "It's a very complex operation... They just don't prove the ability to adapt to modern warfare."