Mark Stokes has a really cool paper out on China’s system for handling warheads (China’s Nuclear Warhead Storage and Handling System):
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 their political significance and potential consequences of an accident, incident, or unauthorized use. As a result, warheads are managed in peacetime
through a system that is separate and distinct from Second Artillery missile bases and subordinate launch brigades. Second Artillery nuclear warheads also appear to be managed separately from China’s civilian fissile material protection, control and accounting (MPC&A) system. In addition, the Second Artillery appears to control and manage nuclear warheads that could be delivered by other services, such as the PLA Air Force and Navy.
The narrative is not surprising, but the detail is jaw-dropping.
He’s gotten well-deserved raves in Defense News (Wendell Minnick, “China’s Central Nuke Storage ID’d,” March 8, 2010) and the Washington Times.