US officials and arms experts in the US and Europe have said that the nuclear weapon designs obtained by Libya through a Pakistani network originated in China, according to a report in the Washington Post on Sunday. The report said the bomb designs and other papers turned over by Libya had yielded âdramatic evidenceâ of Chinaâs role in transferring nuclear know-how to Pakistan in the early 1980s. One expert described the designs as âvery, very oldâ but âwell engineeredâ. Those who examined the blueprints are said to have expressed surprise at what they described as a wholesale transfer of sensitive nuclear technology by one to another country.
| I'm actually surprised, though not overly. From a rational, 2004 standpoint it doesn't make any sense for the Chinese to hand out information that could lead to production of nuclear weapons that could end up being used against them. From a 1980 China-India rivalry point of view, I guess it makes a bit of sense. Pakistan hadn't quite assumed its current thoroughly Islamic character, Islamism wasn't yet a threat, there was no terrorist movement in Xinjiang, and Pakland was the counterweight to India. I wonder if they've shot the guys who shared the technology yet? |
According to nuclear proliferation expert David Albright, âThese documents also raise questions about whether Iran, North Korea and perhaps others received these documents from Pakistanis or their agents. This design would be highly useful to countries such as Iran and North Korea.â Pakistanâs first nuclear test in 1998 involved a more modern design than the one sold to Libya. Mr Albright said the Libyan documents âdo not appear to contain any information about the nuclear weapons Pakistan has builtâ. Some investigators have speculated that the missing papers could have been lost, or hadnât yet been provided possibly they were being withheld pending additional payments. |