The complex at Chiashan Air Base is located in Hualien and is said to be hidden from Chinese surveillance. Taiwan has put its deep bunker hangars on full display during a military exercise, with rare images revealing the hidden cavernous base with fighter jets with advanced anti-ship Harpoon missiles. The photos, released on July 26, show Taiwan Air Force personnel loading weapons onto the F-16V Viper.
This was the same day as Taiwan’s second Han Kuang exercise this year, an annual test conducted to assess the combat readiness of Taiwan’s armed forces in the event of an attack from China.
The release of the images marks the first time the public has had images from inside the bunker since its construction in 1992.
Aviation journalist Roxy Choo tweeted: “While there have been media visits at the Chiashan facility – with no photos allowed, it is remarkable that the public has finally seen footage from the inside after 30 years since its completion in 1992.”
The Taiwanese military is known to have a strict policy about who can access the facility and who is allowed to take photos.
Ian Easton, senior director of the Project 2049 Institute in Arlington, Virginia, said: “The fighters are literally hidden behind a wall of granite.
Mr Easton added: “Taiwan has also built huge earthen cladding for the doors of the underground complex, so that there is no clear view for Chinese ballistic or cruise missiles.”
The hidden Chiashan bunker can reportedly house up to 160 advanced fighter jets.
It can also act as a secure command center and alternative headquarters for key government officials in the midst of an all-out conflict.
It was reportedly built by carving out a granite mountain in Hualien, according to Mr. Choo.
The tunnel complex belonging to Chiashan Air Force Base is just one of many underground bunker complexes on the island.
READ MORE: Gold Viking ring found in ‘cheap jewelry’
The release of the images comes as tensions between China and Taiwan continue to mount, and there are other indications that Taiwan is preparing for an invasion.
The nation, over which China is trying to claim sovereignty, has held massive military exercises in a great show of force in preparation for a Chinese invasion.
Taiwanese lawmaker Lo Chih-Cheng has claimed the self-governing island nation is militarily “capable of defending itself” against invasion as it prepares for a “worst-case” scenario.
He told DW News: “There is a possibility that China will learn from the lesson of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that China may have a short-term war in the Taiwan Straights.
“So we need to make sure Taiwan prepares for the worst-case scenario.
NOT MISSING
India poised to intervene and save Europe from £82bn energy crisis [REPORT]
Monkeypox: Experts Reveal AMAZING New Symptoms [REVEAL]
Lifeline energy bill: £400 winter discount for 29 million households [INSIGHT]
“But more importantly, we will make sure that China thinks twice before taking this kind of military action against Taiwan.
“Taiwan is militarily capable of defending ourselves.”
And tensions have mounted this week for Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
China warned of “consequences” over the planned visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Zhao Lijian, the spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “If the US insists on going its own way and challenging China’s bottom line, they will certainly receive a strong response. Any resulting consequences will be borne by the US. behave.”