Astronomical Funds Spent... Chinese Military Put Plain Water Instead of Fuel in Missiles

Xi Jinping's 'War on Corruption' Decision Amid Rocket Force Corruption
15 Rocket Force and Defense Industry State-Owned Enterprise Leaders Purged
Bloomberg Citing US Intelligence Reports
"Judged Combat Capability Decline, Firmly Pursuing Anti-Corruption"

U.S. intelligence agencies have analyzed that the major military purge led by Chinese President Xi Jinping was driven by an internal assessment that widespread corruption within the military had undermined its combat capabilities.

President Xi Jinping listening to participants at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference meeting [Beijing EPA=Yonhap News]

On the 6th (local time), Bloomberg News cited U.S. intelligence officials stating, "The level of internal corruption within the Chinese People's Liberation Army, especially the Rocket Force established in 2016, is extremely severe, leading to a general lack of confidence in the combat readiness of the Chinese military."

Officials analyzed, "As a result, President Xi is considered less likely to contemplate major military operations in the coming years."

Examples of corruption confirmed by U.S. intelligence include missiles filled with water instead of fuel or stored unused due to lids that did not meet specifications, accumulating in warehouses.

Officials interpreted that such corruption led President Xi to recently take decisive action with purges in the Rocket Force and the defense industry.

The previous day, Bloomberg reported that Chinese authorities had purged 15 senior officials from the Rocket Force and state-owned defense enterprises within the past six months.

The list includes key figures such as former Defense Minister Li Shangfu (李?福). Li's last public appearance was delivering a keynote speech at a security forum with African countries in Beijing last August, after which he disappeared from official events. Chinese military authorities have not disclosed clear reasons for their dismissals.

Additionally, at the National People's Congress (NPC) held on the 29th of last month, the dismissal of nine military leaders from their NPC delegate positions was approved. Those removed include Li Yuchao (李玉超) and Zhou Yaning (周亞寧), former commanders of the Rocket Force (General rank); Zhang Zhenzhong (張振中) and Li Chuanguang (李傳廣), former deputy commanders of the Rocket Force (Lieutenant General rank); L? Hong (呂宏), deputy director of the Rocket Force Equipment Development Department (Major General); Ding Laihang (丁來杭), Air Force Commander (General); and Zhang Yulin (張育林), Rao Wenmin (饒文敏), and Ju Xinchun (鞠新春), former deputy directors of the Central Military Commission Equipment Development Department.

Some observers suggest that this extensive purge may indicate that President Xi's efforts toward military modernization, which he has pursued since establishing the Rocket Force in 2016, have effectively been nullified.

President Xi has poured astronomical funds into the Rocket Force and other branches aiming for military modernization by 2027. However, corruption inside and outside the Rocket Force has caused the expectations he placed on these efforts to collapse all at once.

U.S. authorities view this purge not as a setback to President Xi's position but rather as evidence that he still wields strong influence within the Communist Party, Bloomberg reported.

It is also analyzed that this purge publicly and internally demonstrates President Xi's firm commitment to eradicating corruption.

Currently, a wide-ranging corruption investigation centered on the Rocket Force is underway in China, and there are expectations of further purges in the future.

The People's Liberation Army's official newspaper, the Liberation Army Daily, stated in an editorial on the 1st, "This year, we will wage a war against misconduct," signaling additional purges ahead.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.