Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, appointed “personally” by Xi Jinping, is under investigation for corruption. India TV

The fate of Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun remained uncertain Wednesday as two U.S. officials said he was under investigation for corruption while another urged caution. The Financial Times first reported that Dong was under investigation as part of a sweeping anti-corruption probe that has shaken the top brass of the People's Liberation Army. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency that a Chinese investigation into its strategic rocket forces had expanded to other military and procurement matters .

The official added that the investigation into Dong was important because Chinese President Xi Jinping named Dong himself. But another senior U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, urged caution over reporting about its investigation, without providing details on the accuracy of that information.

Third Chinese minister targeted by investigation

Dong would be the third or former Chinese defense minister in a row to be investigated for alleged corruption. Asked at a daily press briefing about the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said he was “chasing shadows.” China's Defense Ministry also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with at least nine PLA generals and a handful of defense industry executives excluded from the national legislature so far.

Dong, a former chief of the PLA Navy, was appointed defense minister in December 2023. His predecessor, Li Shangfu, was dismissed after seven months in office. Dong refused last week to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a meeting of defense ministers in Laos, citing U.S. actions in Taiwan, a decision the Pentagon chief called unfortunate on Wednesday. . U.S. officials said they were not concerned about military relations between Washington and Beijing if Dong was removed, adding that China would be able to quickly appoint a successor.

Who is Dong Jun?

As defense minister, Dong is responsible for China's military diplomacy with other countries. He oversaw a recent thaw in military relations between the United States and China, with the two countries holding in-theater commanders' talks for the first time in September. But he was not promoted to the six-member Central Military Commission (CMC), China's highest military body, at a major Communist Party plenum earlier this year, where Staff reshuffles would normally be announced.

China's defense minister is traditionally a member of both the CMC, headed by Xi, and the State Council, China's cabinet-level executive body. Dong was also not appointed to the State Council during a government reshuffle in March.

“Frankly, nothing would surprise me anymore,” said Dennis Wilder, a Georgetown University professor and former U.S. intelligence analyst. “The story of these investigations within the PLA is that once the thread of corruption is pulled, many more threads are revealed and the sweater unravels.”

Dong's two immediate predecessors, Li and Wei Fenghe, were expelled from the Communist Party in June for “serious discipline violations,” a euphemism for corruption.

“Betrayed trust”

A Communist Party statement at the time said the two men “betrayed the trust of the party and the Central Military Commission, seriously polluted the military's political environment and caused serious damage to the image of its senior leaders. The two men were also found to have received huge sums of money in bribes and sought to provide “personal benefits” to others, the statement said, such as promotions or higher ranks. in the army.

Earlier last year, reports emerged that Li was under investigation for alleged corruption in military procurement. Wei had disappeared from public view after his replacement in March 2023 in a planned cabinet reshuffle. Wei was head of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Strategic Rocket Force from 2015 to 2017.

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