TimesAsiaNews.com | China – Upheavals in China’s military, Xi Jinping, China’s leader, set out to clean up the once-corrupt military a decade ago. But now his crown jewel the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which manages conventional and nuclear missiles is under a shadow.
Last week, Xi abruptly replaced top generals in the force. One, Gen. Li Yuchao, had been installed by Xi as the force’s top commander early last year. His deputy, Gen. Liu Guangbin, and the political commissar of the force, Gen. Xu Zhongbo, have also vanished from public view. The move came just days after Xi removed China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, whom he had also elevated.
This unexplained shake-up suggests suspicions of graft or other misconduct: Most experts believe that Li and other senior officers may be accused of siphoning some of the enormous spending going into the fast-expanding force. A scandal could reinforce Xi’s conviction that officials can be kept from straying only with scrutiny and pressure.
Context: Xi created the department in 2015, and an expert said that “Xi talks about the P.L.A. Rocket Force as being central to future conflicts.” Virtually all members of China’s military elite owe their rise to Xi, which gives him a firm grip on power.
Related: The Philippines Coast Guard released a video that showed a Chinese Coast Guard vessel firing a water cannon at one of its ships in the South China Sea. In 2016, an international tribunal backed the Philippines in its territorial claims over the contested waters. China has said it would not abide by the ruling. (tnyt/tanews)
The New York Times News Network for timesasianews.com
