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China defence minister placed under investigation for corruption
BEIJING — China Defence Minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption probe that has roiled the top ranks of the People’s Liberation Army, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday (Nov 27).
Dong is the third consecutive serving or former Chinese defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption, the FT reported, citing current and former US officials.
China’s foreign and defence ministries did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment.
Dong, a former PLA Navy chief, was appointed defence minister in December 2023. His predecessor, Li Shangfu, was removed after seven months into the job.
Dong last week declined to meet US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during a meeting of defence ministers in Laos citing US actions over Taiwan, a move the Pentagon chief said on Wednesday was unfortunate.
Dong’s two immediate predecessors, Li and Wei Fenghe, were expelled from the Communist Party in June for “serious violations of discipline”, a euphemism for corruption.
A Communist Party statement at the time said the pair “betrayed the trust of the party and the Central Military Commission, seriously polluted the political environment of the military, and caused great damage to … the image of its senior leaders”.
The pair were also found to have received huge sums of money in bribes and “sought personnel benefits” for others, the statement said.
Reuters exclusively reported last year that Li was under investigation for suspected corruption in military procurement.
Wei had disappeared from public view after he was replaced in March 2023 during a planned cabinet reshuffle. Wei was head of the strategic People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force from 2015-17.