A former senior US intelligence official said that the new base could act as a secure bunker for Chinese officials seeking protection from a nuclear attack.
“China’s main secure command centre is in the Western Hills, north-east of the new facility, and was built decades ago at the height of the Cold War,” the former official said. “The size, scale and partially buried characteristics of the new facility suggest it will replace the Western Hills complex as the primary wartime command facility.
“Chinese leaders may judge that the new facility will enable greater security against US ‘bunker buster’ munitions, and even against nuclear weapons.”
One China researcher who had viewed the images said that the site had “all the hallmarks of a sensitive military facility”, with its deep underground tunnels and reinforced concrete.
“Nearly 10 times bigger than the Pentagon, it’s fitting for Xi Jinping’s ambitions to surpass the US,” the researcher told The FT. “This fortress only serves one purpose, which is to act as a doomsday bunker for China’s increasingly sophisticated and capable military.”
www.telegraph.co.uk
