The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is expanding two military airports in the southeastern coastal province of Fujian, with both located just over 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Taiwan’s capital city Taipei, the island’s United Daily News reported on Monday.

The two airports are Longtian Airport and Hui’an Airport, which are located just 106 miles (170 kilometers) and 118 miles (190 kilometers) respectively from the self-ruling island. Both airports are being used as redeployment airfields, which allows bombers to move in during wartime.

The two airports are of “very high” tactical value to Beijing, as fighter planes can travel to Taipei’ airspace about seven minutes after taking off, said former Taiwan air force deputy commander Chang Yen-ting.

There would be little buffer time for Taiwan’s military if Beijing launched its attack from the two airports, said Su Tzu-yun, director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan.

Beijing would also be able to evade satellite surveillance if it used high-speed rail to transport troops to Longtian and Hui’an, Su added.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play