China launches corruption probe against Defence Minister Dong Jun: Report

Investigation is portion of a broader probe into subject corruption that unseated Dong’s 2 predecessors.

China has launched an probe of Defence Minister Dong Jun owed to suspicion of corruption, according to reports.

Citing existent and erstwhile US officials acquainted with the situation, British paper The Financial Times said connected Wednesday that Dong is the latest authoritative to beryllium caught up successful a wide crackdown connected corruption successful the country’s military.

For the meantime, the study is unconfirmed. Chinese officials failed to respond to requests for remark oregon confirmation from quality agencies connected Wednesday morning.

China’s subject has undergone a sweeping anticorruption purge since past year, with astatine slightest 9 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals and respective defence manufacture executives removed from the nationalist legislative assemblage to date.

Dong would beryllium the 3rd Chinese defence curate successful a enactment to autumn nether probe for corruption, unnamed US officials told the FT.

‘The spot of the party’

Dong, a erstwhile PLA Navy chief, was appointed defence curate successful December 2023.

He is liable for China’s subject diplomacy with different nations. He oversaw a caller thaw successful US-China subject ties, with some nations holding theatre-level commandant talks for the archetypal clip successful September.

Dong’s predecessor, Li Shangfu, was removed aft 7 months into the job, and past expelled from the Communist Party, for offences that included bribery, according to authorities media. He has not been seen successful nationalist since.

Li’s predecessor, Wei Fenghe, was besides kicked retired of the enactment and passed connected to prosecutors for alleged corruption.

A Communist Party connection astatine the clip said the brace “betrayed the spot of the enactment and the Central Military Commission, earnestly polluted the governmental situation of the military, and caused large harm to … the representation of its elder leaders”.

They were recovered to person received immense sums of wealth successful bribes and to person “sought unit benefits” for others, the connection said.

According to experts, this is simply a stroke to the enactment and the role.

“It’s surely a stroke … due to the fact that 1 would ideate they volition beryllium ace cautious to person idiosyncratic precise cleanable successful this role,” Dylan Loh, an adjunct prof astatine Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told the AFP quality agency.

“Graft probes are precise commonly targeted astatine the subject due to the fact that of the agelong humanities ties betwixt the concern satellite and the PLA,” helium said.

At slightest 2 different high-ranking officers connected to the Rocket Force, a comparatively caller portion of the Chinese military, person besides been removed for corruption.

Victor Shih, an adept connected China’s elite politics, told AFP that Dong “likely had authorization implicit tens of billions successful procurement per year” during his clip successful the navy.

“The occupation is that contention for apical positions is truthful fierce that determination mightiness beryllium immoderate communal recriminations betwixt officers, which would pb to endless cycles of arrests, caller appointments and recriminations,” helium said.