China's Military Preparations for Taiwan Invasion

China is building exact replicas of

American and Taiwanese fighter jets and warships in the middle of the desert,

and then bombing them.

The Chinese military even created a model of Taiwan's presidential office and

other key government buildings to practice storming the capital.

This is one of the clearest indications that Xi Jinping is readying his military

for an invasion of Taiwan,

and is priming for a scenario in which the U S. become involved.

This is the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan,

America's largest base in the Indo Pacific.

It would be key to the defense of Taiwan should the U S. become involved.

What you can see now is that very same base,

but replicated in the Chinese desert,

accompanied by three model American Arleigh Burke class destroyers,

a major U S. warship.

And here is an impact crater likely

caused from the test launch of a ballistic missile.

China has also built a replica of Taiwan's Suao Naval Base.

While it's not Taiwan's largest navy base,

it's one of only a few located along the eastern coast,

meaning it's farther from China and protected by a large mountain range,

which would make it harder to hit in the event of an invasion.

But China isn't only preparing for an assault on naval forces,

it's also looking to the air.

Satellite images show runways riddled

with craters in the Talamban Desert.

Next to one of them are two rows of F 22 model aircraft,

four of which have been visibly destroyed.

A line of replica F 16s and F 35s can also be seen.

But staving off American and Taiwanese defenses is only phase one.

If the PLA made it to land,

taking control of Taiwan's government would be a whole other

story. Satellite images show.

two mock ups of part of the Bo ai special zone in Taipei where its government

is located. The second of the two models even includes the streets connecting

the government buildings,

which experts say were likely built for soldiers to rehearse storming the capital.

And in 2015, China released a training video showing its

soldiers doing exactly that.

While intelligence suggests that China isn't planning

on attacking Taiwan imminently, the range and sophistication

of these military models would suggest that if and when Beijing decides to launch

its attack, it would be prepared.