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International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Advance Access originally published online on March 5, 2007
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 2007 7(2):155-178; doi:10.1093/irap/lcl009
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© The author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the Japan Association of International Relations; all rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

China's nuclear command, control and operations

Ta-chen Cheng

Department of Public Administration, Tamkang University, Taiwan
Email: yourdonason{at}yahoo.com

The issues of China's nuclear command, control and operations are a secret dominion and lack serious discussions due to the dearth of available literature. In this article, the author argues that China's command, control and communications systems suffer technological problems, despite the efforts being made. Owing to technological progress, China's strategic and tactical nuclear targetting plans are versatile, but its current striking capability is insufficient. The potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, which China has been developing for decades, could contradict China's no first use commitment. In a nutshell, the author is convinced that China's nuclear posture is more aggressive than its oft-cited policies, and the Chinese are constantly preparing for a more offensive nuclear posture against other nuclear powers, although China's nuclear operational capability is still far behind.

Received for publication October 5, 2005. Accepted for publication March 1, 2006.


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