Last week, when the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off South Carolina, a little-known island in the southernmost part of China was thrust into the spotlight. Hainan, otherwise known for its tropical beaches and resorts, attained notoriety as the suspected base from where China's infamous spy balloons take off to all parts of the world.
The island is called the 'Hawaii of China' and just like Hawaii, Hainan is home to People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Yulin Naval Base, which houses nuclear submarines. The base first caught the world's attention last year when satellite images revealed that China has been expanding the base.
Then, the images captured by Sentinel-2A hinted that two new piers were under construction at the base. So strategic is this location that it allows China to access not only the resource-rich South China Sea but also the busy shipping route stretching from the Middle East, through the Strait of Malacca, to East Asia.
Interestingly, the US is almost certain that the spy balloon took off from the base on Hainan Island, so much so that the military and intelligence agencies had been tracking it since it lifted off from its home base on Hainan Island near China’s south coast before it was eventually shot down in the US airspace, reported The Washington Post.
Though the US has not yet provided the detailed location of the alleged balloon launch site on Hainan, researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) have identified the facility in satellite imagery captured by space imaging firm Planet Labs.
Sam Lair, a MIIS researcher, told Rolling Stone that Hainan is the "best launch site candidate on the island, especially as it has previously hosted aerostats."
Lair and team, who also studied the satellite image, also found imagery of the location hosting airships in Google Earth. "The entire facility is surrounded by a perimeter security fence and also includes three large radomes used to house radar antennas," Lair told the US news website.
The satellite images also show a 40-meter launch pad and what appears to be launch equipment.
Besides, another factor that helped the MIIS team identify the facility is its similarity to another Chinese launch site in Dorbod Banner, near the Mongolian border. Both facilities share a circular pad for launching balloons, a high-bay hangar for storing them, and support buildings with small radome.
"The pairing of a hangar, support building, and a launch pad is characteristic of balloon launch sites observed in other countries including the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand," Lair added.
However, despite all the controversy surrounding the balloon, China has not acknowledged it as a surveillance object.
