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China this Friday (29) appointed former naval commander Dong Jun as its new defense minister, replacing the previous incumbent, General Li Shangfu, who was dismissed without explanation and removed from his position as State Councilor in October.
There was consensus among analysts that Li was being investigated for corruption. He headed the equipment procurement and research division before taking up the defense post in March and has not been seen in public since August 25, weeks before his dismissal.
The new minister's appointment comes amid a strengthening of China's military promoted by Xi Jinping as part of his efforts to make China a dominant global power, amid increasingly assertive movements in the Asian neighborhood particularly over Taiwan, an island controlled by China Beijing is considered a rebel province.
The role of China's defense minister is to be the country's public military face in its relations with the media and the other armed forces.
A crucial element of his work is working with the U.S. Army to reduce the risk of conflict between the two powers over Taiwan and the South China Sea, two points of tension with which the 62yearold Dong is familiar.
Before becoming chief of the People's Liberation Army Navy and promoted to general in 2021, he was deputy commander of the Eastern Sea Fleet, the backbone of today's Eastern Theater Command, the main force in the conflict over Taiwan.
He also served as deputy commander of the Southern Theater Command, which operates in the South China Sea, largely claimed by China as well as regional neighbors such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
“Dong would be familiar with managing close encounters between Chinese and American militaries. That comes in handy when he has to manage crises between both militaries,” said Li Mingjiang, an international relations scholar at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
WenTi Sung, a political scientist and nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, said Dong's selection could be a sign that a purge was underway at the Missile Forces and Equipment Development Department.
The two previous defense ministers who came from these two forces have now disappeared from public life.
In another sign that the army's purge is broader, the dismissal of nine senior military officials from China's top legislative body, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing an announcement by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
They include former Army Rocket Force chief Li Yuchao, who was abruptly replaced in July, his predecessor Zhou Yaning, two other personnel from the unit, two personnel from the Equipment Development Department and the deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of the department, Chief of Staff Zhang Zhenzhong and former air force commander Ding Laihang.
Zhou Yaning led the Rocket Force from 2017 to 2022. Zhang Zhenzhong was deputy commander of the same unit from 2016 to March 2022. Three executives of stateowned missile defense companies were also stripped of their membership on a ceremonial political advisory board on Wednesday (27).
China's defense ministry vowed in August to “fight any corrupt official” when asked about the whereabouts of Li's predecessor Wei Fenghe the first hint of an investigation into corruption among senior military leaders following a major reorganization of the armed forces responsible for China's nuclear and conventional forces are responsible for missile arsenal.
During his brief tenure as minister, Li did not meet with his American counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The ministry said Washington must first lift sanctions it imposed on Li in 2018 over his role in purchasing Russian aircraft and equipment. Dong would not face such a restriction because there is no information about whether he will be subject to US sanctions.
When President Joe Biden and Xi met in San Francisco last month, both leaders agreed to resume highlevel military talks that were suspended following thenU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022 had been.