TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Satellite images show the Chinese military has expanded a mock Taiwanese government complex in Inner Mongolia, adding a replica Judicial Yuan and a tunnel, among other elements.

The Sankei Shimbun reported Thursday that the replica Judicial Yuan was constructed on land next to the “mock Presidential Office,” connected by a 280-meter tunnel, per CNA. By training at a facility that replicates Taipei’s key government buildings, the aim is believed to be preparation for a decapitation strike against Taiwan’s president.

The mock Presidential Office is located at the Zhurihe Training Base in Inner Mongolia, the PLA’s largest training ground, covering about 1,066 square kilometers. CCTV footage from 2015 showed the mock Presidential Office during live army exercises.

The report said the site also includes a “mock Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The newspaper assessed that the mock Presidential Office was publicized to “wage psychological warfare against Taiwan.”

Satellite imagery shows that construction of the mock Judicial Yuan began before the end of August 2020 and was largely completed in 2021. Nearby, a red-roofed building began construction before November 2023 and was almost finished by April, resembling a structure in Taipei’s Ministry of National Defense Reserve Command.

With these additions, the mock Presidential Office training area has expanded to nearly three times its original size since 2020. Observers have previously used satellite imagery to track PLA training at the site.

In July 2022, the PLA set up roadblocks at crossroads leading to the mock Presidential Office and mock Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then cleared them and advanced with armored vehicles. In August 2022, brigade-sized units conducted exercises simulating combat against forces defending the Presidential Office.

Since August this year, armored vehicles and roadblocks have again been observed on roads around the mock Presidential Office, suggesting training continues. After Xi Jinping became chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012, he ordered the military to strengthen realistic combat training.

In March 2018, the PLA held its first “training mobilization meeting,” where Xi appeared in combat uniform and instructed forces to “intensify realistic combat training.” Nakagawa Maki, a JINF researcher, said the Zhurihe base has accelerated development under Xi’s leadership, conducting realistic exercises.

In addition to the mock Presidential Office, “they have expanded a mock Judicial Yuan and even built underground tunnels for training.” She said this is likely intended to pressure Taiwan “by signaling that there is no escape route, even if underground tunnels are built.”