Mark A. Stokes
March 12, 2010
China’s Nuclear Warhead
Storage and Handling System
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| China’s Nuclear Warhead Storage and Handling System |
About the Project 2049 Institute
The Project 2049 Institute seeks to guide
decision makers toward a more secure Asia by
the century’s mid-point. The organization fills
a gap in the public policy realm through
forward-looking, region-specific research on
alternative security and policy solutions. Its
interdisciplinary approach draws on rigorous
analysis of socioeconomic, governance,
military, environmental, technological and
political trends, and input from key players in
the region, with an eye toward educating the
public and informing policy debate.
www.project2049.net
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express appreciation to Ken Allen, Andrew Erickson, Hans Kristensen, Jeffrey
Lewis, Ellis Melvin, Henry Sokolski, and others for reviews and/or suggestions on earlier drafts.
Cover image and below: Chinese nuclear test. Source: CCTV.
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| China’s Nuclear Warhead Storage and Handling System |
Introduction
Transparency and accountability are fundamental enablers for arms control and nuclear
weapon safety and security. As noted in a United Nations-supported Weapons of Mass
Destruction Commission report, “increased transparency of nuclear-weapons-related
information is an indispensable prerequisite for more progress in nuclear disarmament and
its verification.”1 Among the least understood elements of the world’s nuclear weapon
arsenal is the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) system for storing and maintaining its
nuclear warhead stockpile. The dearth of information is in part purposeful – its nuclear
warhead stockpile naturally is among China’s most closely guarded secrets.2
The Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission (CMC) maintains strict control
over China’s operational nuclear warheads through a centralized storage and handling system
managed by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Second Artillery. Nuclear warheads are
granted special consideration due to