April 27,2008: Two years ago, commercial satellite photos began to show details of a submarine base that China was building at Yulin, near Sanya, on the southern island of Hainan (near Vietnam). The base has underground docking facilities for nuclear and diesel-electric subs, created by tunneling into coastal hills. Rumors of such a base have been circulating for the past six years, apparently since locals began noticing all the construction activity, and the tight security around the site. The underground facilities not only protect the boats from air or sea based attack, but enable maintenance and modifications to be done in secret.