China named former Navy chief Dong Jun as its new defence minister on Friday replacing Li Shangfu who was sacked earlier this year during a series of unexplained dismissals of military and political leaders.
The former navy commander’s appointment comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping upgrades the Chinese army as part of his plans to make China a dominant world power, and shows increasing assertiveness in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
The role of the Chinese defence minister remained unfulfilled for over two months as Li Shangfu was ousted after seven months in the role. His dismissal, along with the removal of foreign minister Qin Gang in July, was unexpected as both of them were handpicked by Xi Jinping.
No official reason for their sudden removal was given by Beijing’s political establishment.
The Chinese defence minister’s role is to be the public face of the People’s Liberation Army in its engagement with the media and with other armed forces. One of the most important key responsibility area of the Chinese defence minister is to engage with the United States military to lower the risk of conflict over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Dong, 62, is no stranger to these two flashpoints because before becoming the People’s Liberation Army Navy chief and a full general in 2021 he was the vice commander of the East Sea Fleet. The East Sea Fleet is the foundational pillar of what is now the Eastern Theatre Command.
The Eastern Theatre Command is the main force responsible for fighting over Taiwan, a self-ruled island China has threatened to reunify with the motherland, if required by using force.
He also formerly served as the vice commander of the Southern Theatre Command which operates in the South China Sea, bulk of which is claimed by China.
Hu Zhongming replaced him and is now the new navy chief.
Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at Australian National University, said on social media site X that Dong’s appointment is a sign that “China sees South China Sea as a new priority area of geopolitical contestation between China and the US while following the existing tradition of appointing non-Army generals to lead China’s military diplomacy”.
Liu Zhenli, a 59-year-old general and head of China’s joint staff department, was pegged to be the new defence minister by China observers because he held a small meeting with American defence secretary Lloyd Austin last week marking the first high-level call between military personnel from the two leading world powers in more than a year.
Corruption
Wen-Ti Sung, political scientist and non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told news agency Reuters that the elevation of Dong could be a sign that purges are ongoing in the Rocket Force and Equipment Development Department.
The two preceding defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, who came from these two forces, have since disappeared from public view. Li is being probed for corruption related to equipment procurement and development.
In a separate Friday announcement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress it was announced that nine senior military officials were removed from China’s top legislative body.
Fighting alleged corruption has been a central theme of Xi’s rule, which has been punctuated by high-level removals and disappearances of officials. China’s defence ministry vowed to “crack down on every corrupt official” in August.
(with inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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