Beijing has built new mock-ups of Taiwan’s most important government buildings at a major military base in Inner Mongolia, in what analysts say is part of a detailed programme of invasion training aimed at Taiwan’s leadership. Recent satellite imagery has shown armoured vehicles and a brigade-sized force conducting live-fire drills and assaulting the imitation presidential compound.
It comes as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te announced the construction of a new missile and air-defence system, dubbed the “Taiwan Shield” (T-Dome), to protect the island from Chinese attack. Satellite images obtained by the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals show the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has recently completed structures modelled on Taiwan’s Judicial Yuan and the foreign and defence ministries, in addition to an existing replica of the island’s Presidential Office.
The complex sits at the PLA’s Zhurihe training base, around 250 miles north-west of Beijing.
According to reports, the new additions represent a threefold expansion of the mock presidential district since 2020 and are connected by a 280-metre (900-foot) tunnel.
Recent satellite imagery has shown armoured vehicles and a brigade-sized force conducting live-fire drills and assaulting the imitation presidential compound.
Maki Nakagawa, of the INF think tank, said Beijing had “rapidly renovated” the site to enable “combat-oriented training”.
The goal, she said, “is to put pressure on Taiwan and warn it that even with tunnels, there’s no escape route”.
Taiwan’s defence minister Wellington Koo confirmed Taipei was aware of the PLA’s training base and had made preparations against a possible “decapitation strike” but declined to give operational details.
Speaking at the Double Tenth (National Day) celebrations last week, Taiwanese President Lai said the T-Dome project would form the backbone of a “multi-layered defence” network as Taiwan boosts military spending to over 3% of GDP next year and 5% by 2030.
He urged Beijing to “strive to maintain the status quo”, warning that the entire “First Island Chain” stretching from Kyushu to the Philippines was under serious threat, and called on China to “abandon attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait through force or coercion”.
By contrast, Xi Jinping, in his National Day speech on October 1, vowed to “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and to “firmly oppose separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence”.
Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out taking it by force.
Regional expert Dr John Hemmings, of the Council on Geostrategy, said the new complex “can only serve as a training ground for special forces and urban combat units preparing for snatch-and-grab operations against Taiwan’s leadership and government buildings”.
He added: “China has been amassing food stocks and energy reserves, de-linking from the US dollar, mapping Taiwan’s airspace and wearing down its air force to test response times. These latest revelations just add more smoke to the fire.
“China would prefer not to test its military on a big throw, which could actually end up destroying the leadership of the CCP. But Xi Jinping has set deadlines for the military to be ready for war, and he needs all options planned for.”