China has launched an investigation into its defense minister in connection with the latest corruption scandal affecting the top of the country's People's Liberation Army, citing current and former U.S. officials familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reports, writes UNN.
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Admiral Dong Jun, appointed in December 2023 after his predecessor was fired for corruption, is under investigation as part of a broader investigation into bribery in the PLA, according to U.S. officials.
He is the third consecutive current or former defense minister to be investigated for alleged corruption.
Dong replaced General Li Shangfu, who was removed from office after just seven months in the job. Both were appointed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
U.S. officials reported at the time that Lee was under investigation for corruption. Li was replaced by Wei Fenghe, who was also under investigation for corruption after he resigned.
U.S. officials said Xi is conducting a wave of investigations into the PLA that captured Dong. It is unclear exactly what corruption charges he has been charged with.
The news came a week after Dong attended an Asian selection meeting in Laos, where he refused to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which Austin called "annoying.
Глава Пентагона заявил, что Китай отказался от встречи во время его визита в Азию21.11.2024, 09:00
They first met in Singapore in May at the USS Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum as part of the first significant ministerial meeting between the two militaries since November 2022.
China's defense ministry blamed the U.S. for the refusal, saying Washington bears "exceptional responsibility" because it recently approved an arms package for Taiwan that included advanced surface-to-air missiles for the first time.
The dispute arose a few days after U.S. President Joe Biden and Xi met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Peru and confirmed that their military should continue to maintain direct communication.
China closed military communication channels with the United States in August 2022 after Nancy Pelosi became the first speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
Xi agreed to reopen the channels when he held a summit with Biden in San Francisco a year ago, paving the way for a meeting between Dong and Austin.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday dismissed the report of the investigation into Dong as "catching wind and shadow," suggesting the allegations were unfounded.
The investigation into Dong suggests that Xi is expanding his investigation into corruption in the PLA. In addition to the removal of two predecessors of the Minister of Defense, the head of China previously suspended two officers who headed the PLA missile forces and oversaw China's nuclear weapons program.
Christopher Johnson, a former top CIA analyst on China who now heads the China Strategies Group, a risk consulting firm, said the event raised concerns about how Xi chose defense ministers.
"In 2018, Xi broke with tradition by appointing Wei from the PLA missile forces to this position instead of an army general. With Dong, a serviceman, the military assured Xi that the verification was flawless after a four-month search, Johnson said. "So Xi can only guess which corner of the PLA is not corrupt?"
In 2022, Xi also removed Qin Gang, whom he appointed foreign minister, from office after reports of his extramarital affair with a Chinese woman in the United States.
U.S. military officers and officials have suggested that investigations into the PLA undermine Xi's confidence in his army and raise questions about whether it will be able to develop the ability to invade Taiwan by 2027, the newspaper writes.
Unlike the role of the Secretary of Defense in the US government, the Minister of Defense in China is not the most influential military figure in the Chinese system, which is headed by the deputy Chairmen of the Central Military Commission (CVC). Instead, the Minister of Defense acts as the face of the PLA in the international arena.
Earlier this year, Dong was not appointed to the CVC as expected, in an unusual development that raised questions about his tenure.