China Builds Replicas of Taiwanese Gov Buildings for Special Forces Training

China has built new replicas of Taiwanese government buildings to train its special forces.

These models allow the Chinese military to train at the Jurige base in Inner Mongolia.

The buildings were discovered on satellite images of the Chinese military base obtained by a Japanese think tank.

The model of the Taiwanese court and parliament was connected to a 280-meter-long underground tunnel. At the other end of the tunnel is a building that looks like the Office of the President Republic of China (Taiwan).

Japanese media also noted that in recent years, China has been recreating the buildings of Taiwan’s ministries of foreign affairs and defense. In 2024, a replica of Taipei’s business center appeared at the training ground.

Replicas of Taiwanese government buildings in China. Source: Maxar Technologies

The People’s Liberation Army of China has been using these models for training for over a decade.

Satellite images from 2022 and 2023 show Chinese troops practicing urban combat: setting up and dismantling roadblocks, advancing with armored units, and storming facilities.

Experts note that such training demonstrates China’s focus on ‘realistic combat training.’ The scale of the reconstruction of the Taiwanese capital Taipei has tripled since 2020.

Taiwan’s political status remains ambiguous. The People’s Republic of China considers the island to be its province, while Taiwan and other islands are under the de facto control of the Republic of China.

Taiwan is located about 100 miles off the southeastern coast of China. It has its own constitution, democratically elected leaders and considers itself an independent state.

The military of the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan. Photo from open sources

The island is part of the so-called First island chain – a system of territories supported by the United States, which is a key element of the American strategy of containing Beijing in the region. Amid rising tensions between Beijing and Taipei, the island is seeking to strengthen cooperation with its allies to preserve its independence.

Economic factors also play an important role in China’s desire to retake Taiwan. Seizing the island would allow Beijing to project military power in the Western Pacific and challenge the United States. In addition, Taiwan is one of the key electronics manufacturers in the world. Controlling its industry would give China significant influence over global technology supply chains.