China's defence minister Dong Jun under investigation for corruption: Report
If confirmed, Dong would be the third consecutive serving or former Chinese defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption.
· CNA · JoinBEIJING: China's Defence Minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption probe, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday (Nov 27), citing current and former US officials.
If FT's report is confirmed, Dong would be the third consecutive serving or former Chinese defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption.
At a regular news briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a response to a question about the FT report that it was "just shadow-chasing".
China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with nine People's Liberation Army (PLA) generals and at least four aerospace defence industry executives removed from the national legislative body to date.
Dong, a former PLA Navy chief, was appointed defence minister in December 2023. His predecessor, Li Shangfu, was removed after seven months on the job.
As defence minister, Dong is responsible for China's military diplomacy with other nations. He oversaw a recent thaw in US-China military-to-military ties, with both nations holding theatre-level commander talks for the first time in September.
But he declined to meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week during a meeting of defence ministers in Laos – citing US actions over Taiwan – a move that the Pentagon chief said was unfortunate.
China's defence minister has traditionally been a member of the six-member Central Military Commission (CMC), which is headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the State Council, China’s Cabinet-level executive body.
But Dong was not promoted to the CMC, China's highest-level military body, during a major Communist Party plenum earlier this year, where personnel reshuffles would normally be announced.
He was also not appointed to the State Council during a government reshuffle in March.
PREVIOUS DEFENCE MINISTERS
It was reported in June this year that Li and his predecessor Wei Fenghe were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for "serious violations of discipline", using a euphemism for corruption.
Li was suspected of receiving "huge sums of money" in bribes as well as bribing others, reported state news agency Xinhua.
Wei has disappeared from public view since he was replaced in March 2023 during a planned Cabinet reshuffle.
He was defence minister from 2018 to 2023 and head of the strategic People's Liberation Army Rocket Force from 2015 to 2017.
Beijing has deepened a crackdown on alleged graft in the armed forces over the past year, with President Xi Jinping this month ordering the military to stamp out corruption and strengthen their "war-preparedness".
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