Chinese Military Building Large SIGINT Listening Post in Hong Kong

July 25, 2014

China builds listening station in Hong Kong

Ian Cameron

IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly

A view of the geodesic dome atop Hong Kong’s tallest mountain - the 957 m-high peak of Tai Mo Shan - belonging to the PLA, plus an antenna mast alongside. The facility is protected by security cameras and razor wire-topped fences. Source: Gordon Arthur

The existence of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) communications installation atop Hong Kong’s tallest mountain - the 957 m-high peak of Tai Mo Shan - recently came to light.

Construction began around 2010, with a geodesic dome first appearing in satellite imagery in 2011. The facility has been operational for approximately three years.

The installation sits inside a fenced compound that also includes a Civil Aviation Department terminal area radar and Hong Kong Observatory weather radar. The Hong Kong government has admitted giving the PLA a plot of land measuring 9,300 m² on which the army has constructed a geodesic dome, antenna mast, two large buildings, and a basketball court for use by the resident garrison.

The PLA has installed security cameras and also tinted building windows to reduce observation. On two occasions IHS Jane’s has observed PLA vehicles ascending Tai Mo Shan to deliver supplies or replacement staff. Personnel wearing PLA Navy-style uniforms have been observed inside the compound.

The PLA has refused to explain the facility’s purpose, claiming that “military secrecy” means it is “not appropriate for disclosure”, although it is extremely likely that it is an electronic and signals intelligence (ELINT/SIGINT) facility. If so, the facility will be similar in purpose to a British radar station based on Tai Mo Shan and used to monitor mainland China until the colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The PLA occupies 18 military sites in Hong Kong covering 2,700 hectares that were transferred from the British Army as Military Installations Closed Areas (MICA) in 1997. The Tai Mo Shan radar site does not appear on official lists of PLA installations.

A 19th site is a controversial new military berth set aside for PLA warships on prime Hong Kong Island waterfront.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said: “The Garrison Law provides that the government of the HKSAR [Hong Long Special Administrative Region] shall support the Hong Kong Garrison in its performance of defence functions. It is inappropriate to disclose the details of any defence operations.” He also refused to say whether other secret military sites existed in the territory.

Meanwhile, the Development Bureau declined to comment on whether the Tai Mo Shan site was a short-term tenancy or private treaty grant.

The installation has attracted controversy in Hong Kong because its existence has not been publicly confirmed, and due to concerns that a loophole in government land allocation could allow the PLA to build yet more secret facilities without governmental approval or a need to inform the public.