Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has come under investigation for alleged bribery, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing US sources.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has launched a series of investigations into the leadership of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and Dong Jun has “fallen into a trap.” What kind of corruption charges he faces, FT sources did not reveal. The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment.
Dong is the third Chinese defence minister in a row to be investigated on suspicion of corruption. He succeeded General Li Shangfu, who was ousted after just seven months in office. Before this, the FT also wrote that Li Shangfu was under investigation for corruption.
US military officers and officials spoke to the FT, suggesting that investigations into the PLA leadership undermine Xi Jinping’s confidence in his military and raise questions about whether it can “develop the capability to invade Taiwan by 2027, a goal set by China’s leader.” Such a goal has been previously reported by the CIA; Xi Jinping has never spoken about it publicly. However, the Chinese leader called reunification with Taiwan a “historical necessity” and an “inevitability.”
Admiral Dong Jun, commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, was appointed China’s defence minister by a decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 29, 2023.
Before becoming commander-in-chief of the Chinese navy in 2021, Dong served in all of China’s major naval units: the Chinese Northern Sea Fleet, which regularly participates in joint exercises with the Russian Navy, the Eastern Sea Fleet, which has Japan in its area of responsibility, and the Southern Command, which controls another potentially conflict-prone region, the South China Sea.
