Harbin
45°45'N 126°39'E
Harbin in Heilogiang has been reported as a possible warhead assembly and production site. However, no entity identification for such a facility is available in the public record, and nuclear weapons related activities in Harbin are poorly attested.
In February 1999 Japanese police charged officials from Tokyo-based Hitachi Electronics Ltd for allegedly selling nuclear-related technology to China. Hitachi's technicians had been sent to to Harbin, in north-east China, in 1997 to install gap-measuring equipment and train local workers. The gap-measuring equipment, capable of measuring micron units when used with lasers, could be used to develop or produce nuclear weapons.
The Harbin Institute of Military Engineering was established on 01 September 1953, evolving from the Military Engineering Institute in Harbin of March 1952. Focused on training the technical personnel of the PLA, it consisted of five engineering faculties of the air force, artillery corps, navy, armoured corps and engineering corps. In the early years, Soviet advisors taught at this institute as a part of the Sino-Soviet understanding. In 1959, the Institute was reorganised to include six engineering faculties of the air force, navy, missile, nuclear energy, electronics and electronic computers to accommodate the change in the structure of the defense industry. From 1953 to 1966 the institute enrolled more than 18,000 students.
Sources and Resources
- CHINA: Nuclear Weapons Systems by Rodney W. Jones, Mark G. McDonough, with Toby F. Dalton and Gregory D. Koblentz, Tracking Nuclear Proliferation 1998 (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment, July 1998)
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/facility/harbin.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Tuesday, April 18, 2000 10:06:10 AM
