Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: A View from China

Nuclear terrorism is the common enemy of all mankind, and its danger is a reality. In the face of the emergence of global, non-state terrorism, China must be prepared to confront a new kind of enemy -- the nuclear terrorist. There are several potential forms of nuclear terrorism. A terrorist attack using a functional nuclear device would be devastating. A "dirty bomb" is another form, although much less deadly and far easier to build than a crude nuclear device. China believes that to combat nuclear terrorism, the most important thing is to enhance nuclear materials control and their security. China has taken substantial measures to further strengthen its control over nuclear materials as well as to protect its nuclear facilities. In the face of this new challenge of combating nuclear terrorism, there is still much work for China to do, including improving management and control of radioactive sources and clarifying the design basis threat. In all, every nation must not only perform its due obligations to prevent nuclear terrorism, but also participate actively in building international nonproliferation and nuclear security regimes. All countries should take unanimous action, And China will continue to contribute to this end.

This article is based on a paper the author researched and wrote as a 2004-2005 visiting scholar with the Project on Peace and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region at CISAC.