China's nuclear command, control and operations

The issues of China's nuclear command, control and operationsare a secret dominion and lack serious discussions due to thedearth of available literature. In this article, the authorargues that China's command, control and communications systemssuffer technological problems, despite the efforts being made.Owing to technological progress, China's strategic and tacticalnuclear targetting plans are versatile, but its current strikingcapability is insufficient. The potential use of tactical nuclearweapons, which China has been developing for decades, couldcontradict China's no first use commitment. In a nutshell, theauthor is convinced that China's nuclear posture is more aggressivethan its oft-cited policies, and the Chinese are constantlypreparing for a more offensive nuclear posture against othernuclear powers, although China's nuclear operational capabilityis still far behind. Received for publication October 5, 2005. Accepted for publication March 1, 2006.