China appoints navy commander as defense minister

China on Friday appointed a naval commander with experience in the South China Sea as defense minister, filling a months-long vacancy left by the unexplained disappearance of the previous minister, who appeared to be involved in an investigation into possible corruption or other misdeeds.

The appointment of the commander, Admiral Dong Jun, as defense minister was finalized by Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping after formal approval by lawmakers, the Xinhua. This is reported by the news agency. Earlier this week, there was speculation that Admiral Dong would be named to that post after another admiral took his stand as head of the Chinese Navy.

Admiral Dong’s promotion could allay the uncertainty that has arisen around the high ranks of the Chinese military following the disappearance and ousting of the previous Defense Minister, General Li Shangfu, and of the Rocket Force’s two top commanders , which controls the Chinese military. The Chinese nuclear missiles.

General Li had not been seen in public for about two months before he became official removed as minister the end of October. The Chinese government has still not provided an explanation for his removal, but many experts believe he was likely involved in an investigation into bribe-taking or other misconduct that also took down Rocket Force commanders.

In China’s military hierarchy, which is controlled by the Communist Party, the defense minister is not one of the most powerful posts. Instead, the minister serves as the People’s Liberation Army’s chief foreign liaison officer, meeting with visiting military delegations and providing Chinese views at forums such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore.

Admiral Dong, in his early 60s, is not a member of the Central Military Commission, the party council overseen by Mr Xi that controls the People’s Liberation Army. But a later meeting of party leaders could promote him to that committee.

“The Minister of Defense in the Chinese government system is not a decision maker or commander of forces or resources,” he said Drew Thompsona visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, who previously served as a Pentagon official dealing with the Chinese military.

“That makes the secretary of defense a poor interlocutor for his American counterpart,” Thompson said. “But the Minister of Defense is an important channel for cooperation with the Central Military Commission, led by Xi Jinping, where decisions are made.”

Perhaps one of Admiral Dong’s most important and difficult tasks is holding talks with the US military. Beijing and Washington are embroiled in tensions over Taiwan, the South China Sea and other issues, and the Pentagon has accused People’s Liberation Army aircraft of recklessly buzzing U.S. planes flying in international airspace off the coast of China.

At a summit in November, Mr. Xi and President Biden agreed to resume dialogue between their two militaries, which Beijing suspended last year to protest a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the House of Representatives, to Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China has. claims it as its territory. The two sides held military talks earlier this month. China has insisted that the US secretary of defense talk to its defense secretary, but the Pentagon would like to see China represented by a senior commander.

Admiral Dong can claim some experience in one of the most volatile issues for the Chinese military. He was previously deputy commander in Southern Command of China, which covers the South China Sea, where Beijing is embroiled in long-standing territorial disputes with Southeast Asian countries that also claim islands and territorial waters there. Admiral Dong is China’s first Defense Minister with a naval background.

But Mr. Thompson said Admiral Dong appears to have emerged more as a bureaucratic overseer than a front-line officer.

“That has pros and cons because it means he knows how to work his system,” Mr. Thompson said, “but he is more of a politician than a soldier.”