With China's claims that they own the South China Sea, I’m at ground zero staring into the belly of the beast from our suite at the Sheraton Sanya. If I had brought my binoculars one could literally see the tunnel entrance from our balcony. Doctor No, Stromberg & Doctor Evil, eat your heart out since this is the real deal.
"Yulin / Longpo Naval Base (榆林海军基地) is a naval base for nuclear submarines along the southern coast of Hainan Island, People's Republic of China. This underground base has been reported by several intelligence agencies, especially Indian agencies. The images collected by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in February 2008 shows that China constructed a large scale underground base for its naval forces.
The caverns are capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines based on reconnaissance satellites data collected. The harbor houses nuclear ballistic missile submarines and is large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers.
The submarine base is located at the point in Chinese territory that is closest to the continental shelf. It is roughly 50 nautical miles (93 km) from the base to the 200 meter isobath. It is 150 nautical miles (280 km) to the closest of the disputed Paracel Islands or the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. Speculation has been raised that the base is intended to be expanded to include future capability for aircraft carrier groups.
The submarine base is not in a remote location. It is only a few miles from the city of Sanya (population 536,000 in 2006), a popular tourist destination and the site of a major planned future cruise hub. The base is immediately next to the Yalong Bay National Resort District featuring resort hotels operated by Banyan Tree, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, and Holiday Inn right outside of the entrance."
"Yulin / Longpo Naval Base (榆林海军基地) is a naval base for nuclear submarines along the southern coast of Hainan Island, People's Republic of China. This underground base has been reported by several intelligence agencies, especially Indian agencies. The images collected by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in February 2008 shows that China constructed a large scale underground base for its naval forces.
The caverns are capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines based on reconnaissance satellites data collected. The harbor houses nuclear ballistic missile submarines and is large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers.
The submarine base is located at the point in Chinese territory that is closest to the continental shelf. It is roughly 50 nautical miles (93 km) from the base to the 200 meter isobath. It is 150 nautical miles (280 km) to the closest of the disputed Paracel Islands or the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. Speculation has been raised that the base is intended to be expanded to include future capability for aircraft carrier groups.
The submarine base is not in a remote location. It is only a few miles from the city of Sanya (population 536,000 in 2006), a popular tourist destination and the site of a major planned future cruise hub. The base is immediately next to the Yalong Bay National Resort District featuring resort hotels operated by Banyan Tree, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, and Holiday Inn right outside of the entrance."