China has appointed a new defence minister, Dong Jun, after the dismissal of the previous defence minister Li Shangfu in October 2023.

PLAN with a man

According to Reuters, former navy chief and admiral Dong Jun was officially announced on Dec. 29 as China's new defence minister.

Nikkei further reported that Dong is the first People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) top commander to head up the defence ministry in the history of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The announcement comes amidst increasing rivalry and tension in the South China Sea between China and the United States and local regional powers, such as the Philippines, as well as ongoing tensions in the Taiwan strait.

Dong was made a full general in 2021, the highest rank in the Communist Party of China's military establishment.

He was previously vice commander of the East Sea fleet, part of the Eastern theatre command, which would be responsible for military operations during any conflict between China and Taiwan.

He has also previously served as vice commander of the Southern Theater command, which would operate in the South China sea.

Singapore's Chief of Navy Sean Wat met with Dong in September 2023, when Wat was hosted by Dong during Wat's introductory visit to China.

Them and US

Reuters quoted Li Mingjiang, from Singapore's Rajaratnam School of International Studies, who said Dong would be familiar with managing near encounters between the Chinese and the U.S. military.

Unlike his predecessor, Li Shangfu, Dong is not subject to sanctions by the U.S., which Li was, due to his role in purchasing military equipment from Russia.

This means that Dong would be able to visit the U.S. without complication, especially important after U.S. and China’s presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping had agreed to resume military diplomacy at a recent meeting in San Francisco.

The U.S. had said previously that Li would be allowed to visit due to his position as defence minister, something that China never put to the test.

Corruption concerns

Dong's appointment comes after the removal of Li Shangfu, his predecessor in the role.

Li was officially removed from the role in October 2023, after he disappeared from public view in August 2023, leaving the defence ministry without an official minister for several months.

China has not officially declared the reason for Li’s disappearance, but U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has alleged that it stemmed from his involvement with China's troubled property developer Country Garden.

Reuters, however, has linked Li's removal to ongoing purges in China's rocket force, responsible for its nuclear deterrent, as well as in its military procurement department.

Li had previously headed up the department responsible for military equipment procurement and research prior to becoming defence minister in March 2023.

Li’s predecessor Wei Fenghe, who was previously head of China's Rocket Force until 2017, has also disappeared from public view with Reuters reporting in August 2023 that Wei had not been seen in several months.

The recent appointment of Dong, comes as the CPC's military has removed and replaced several high ranking military officials in the past six months.

Lyle Morris, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute wrote on X that at least nine high ranking officers, three generals, four lieutenant generals, and two commanders, have been removed in recent months.

This amounts to one of the largest purges in the PLARF and EDD in decades, all tying back to Li. Something major must have occurred to precipitate this kind of purge.

Two likely scenarios are a major corruption scandal or an intel leak.

— Lyle Morris (@LyleJMorris) December 29, 2023

He stated that the two most likely reasons for such a significant purge were likely to be a major corruption scandal or an intelligence leak.

While he did not completely rule out the possibility of what he termed a soft coup, he did deem it unlikely.

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Top image via Republic of Singapore Navy/Facebook