Big action on another defense minister of China, President Xi Jinping ordered investigation against Dong Jun

China’s Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun is surrounded by corruption allegations. He is being investigated in a case related to corruption in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This information has been given in the Financial Times report quoting US officials. Corruption in the defense sector in China has caught the attention of the world in recent times. Dong is the third consecutive serving or former Defense Minister of China, against whom corruption investigations are being conducted. Dong Jun was made the Defense Minister 11 months ago, in December 2023.

Before Dong Jun, Li Shangfu was the Defense Minister of China. Lee had to step down due to corruption allegations. Li Shangfu was removed from the post in just seven months after the allegations were made. Before Li Shangfu, Wei Fenghe was the Defense Minister of China. He was also accused of corruption. His investigation started after he stepped down. The image of the Chinese army has also been hit by the allegations of corruption against defense ministers one after the other.

Investigation of corruption in Chinese Army
This entire matter is part of a wider investigation into corruption in the People’s Liberation Army. US officials say that President Jinping has launched a large-scale campaign to investigate corruption in the PLA. Defense Minister Dong has now come under the purview of this campaign. However, it is not yet clear what kind of corruption charges are against Dong Jun. China’s embassy in Washington has refused to comment on the matter.

The investigation of Dong Jun shows that Xi Jinping is expanding the scope of investigation into corruption in the PLA. Apart from removing the defense ministers, Jinping has also removed two key officials of the PLA Rocket Force. These officers used to oversee China’s nuclear weapons program. Earlier in the year 2022, Jinping also removed Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Qin Gang was accused of having an affair with a Chinese woman in the US.

US military officials claim that the ongoing investigation in the PLA is somehow reducing Jinping’s confidence in his army. However, the Defense Minister in China is not the most powerful military person. The Chinese military is headed by the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). The Defence Minister is the international face of the PLA.