China abruptly ousts nine military lawmakers as defense purge widens

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China abruptly ousted nine military figures from its national parliament without explanation, as a major purge of personnel in the upper echelons of the nation’s defense universe casts its net wider.

The nation’s top legislative body revoked the lawmakers’ membership during a Friday meeting, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Their ouster adds to a series of recent removals that are raising questions about how such turmoil will affect the smooth operations of China’s military.

Five of those cut came from the nation’s secretive Rocket Force, including former commander Li Yuchao who was earlier reported to be subject to a corruption investigation.

At least two hailed from the Equipment Development Department, which this summer opened a corruption investigation into hardware purchases going back to 2017. The dates of that inquiry overlapped with former defense minister Li Shangfu’s tenure leading the procurement department.

Ding Laihang, a former commander of the Air Force, was also ousted on Friday, while the ninth person was from the navy. Their removal marked the first time those branches of the military have been implicated by the recent personnel swings.

The body didn’t specify a reason for removing the men. The People’s Liberation Army hasn’t published any information about a disciplinary probe.

The removals are a sign Chinese President Xi Jinping’s nearly decade-long drive to clean up the People’s Liberation Army is still incomplete. Back in 2014, China started launching probes into some of its top current and retired generals, including two who had sat on the body that runs the PLA, the Central Military Commission.

This year’s unexplained purges suggest that corruption probe is once again ramping up. Beijing ousted Li as China’s top military diplomat without explanation in October, months after replacing two top leaders managing the nation’s nuclear arsenal. A top political advisory body removed three defense company executives this week.

The Friday meeting of the legislature also installed former navy chief Dong Jun as China’s new defense minister, potentially paving the way for a resumption of high-level military exchanges between the world’s two largest economies.

The purge of 12 delegates from the legislature and political advisory body in the space of three days suggests “Xi’s shakeup of the military has reached its apex,” Eurasia Group analysts including Mingda Qiu wrote in a note. “Investigations are likely continuing at lower levels, as well as in other departments,” they added. (BLOOMBERG)