Taiwan looks at tunnel bunker as emergency wartime military command centre
- Hsuehshan Tunnel named as backup joint operation facility but defence minister says military is looking at all possibilities
- The island’s government and military leaders are closely watching the Ukraine war for lessons
Taiwan’s military is considering setting up a backup joint operation command centre if its Hengshan facility is destroyed by the People’s Liberation Army in a cross-strait war.
The tunnel, which was bored through the Hsuehshan (meaning Snow Mountain) Range, is the longest in Taiwan and connects Taipei through New Taipei to Yilan county.
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Covered by the mountain range and with sound ventilation systems – including vertical ventilation shafts as deep as 512 metres (1,680 feet) – as well as a large inner space and multiple cross connections, the tunnel could resist bombardments, house large military facilities and shelter people.
“In view of the Ukraine war, the military has re-evaluated the sustainability of various of its underground operation command centres in the event of a first strike by the enemy,” the United Daily News in Taipei said.
With the success of integrating optic-fibre and other communication systems in recent years, the military decided to work with the freeway bureau to set up another joint operation command centre at Hsuehshan Tunnel, the newspaper said.
It said the military’s communication and information units had already started installing facilities in the tunnel and that during the annual Han Kuang exercises this year, the military would test the effectiveness of the Hsuehshan centre in delivering orders to troops in the drills.