India, July 29 -- China's first amphibious assault ship, Sichuan, expected to become one of Beijing's key assets in any potential action against Taiwan, is in the final phase of sea trials, with state media airing computer-generated footage of it launching stealth combat drones.

Sichuan is the first amphibious ship in the world equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), which uses electromagnetic linear motors instead of steam catapults to launch aircraft.

An EMALS catapult system can accelerate landing and take-off of the aircraft smoothly and quickly. Besides the Sichuan, the system has been used on the US Navy's USS Gerald R Ford and China's aircraft carrier Fujian.

Computer-generated footage showing how Sichua...