China’s Rocket Force Rockedโข by โขPurges, allegations of Missile Fraud
Beijing, โขChina – A sweeping purge isโ underwayโข within the โPeople’s Liberation army (PLA) Rocket Force,โฃ with reports indicating the removal of numerous high-ranking โofficials, including Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, PLA Rocket Force Commander โฃWang Houbin, Eastern Theater Commander Lin Xiangyang, and former Southern Theater Commanderโข Wang Xiubin. โฃThe crackdown has led to a widespread investigation into alleged corruption within the force.
According toโ X account @jianmang054A,the investigationโข hasโฃ already implicated 11 generals,including all three commanders ofโ the โคRocket Force. While initial concerns centered on typical corruption schemes like “inflated prices and kickbacks,” โขsources now suspect a far more serious issue: fraudulent reporting of missile accuracy.
If confirmed, this โwould meen a notable portion of China’s missile arsenal โคmay be non-functional, effectively rendering them “scrap iron” and โincapable of achieving combat effectiveness.This revelation has prompted Beijing to take drastic action to rectify the situation.
Furtherโข fueling speculation, analystsโ suggest the investigation, if pursued further, could โฃimplicate zhang โฃYouxia, aโ high-ranking military official.โ Reports indicate a strained relationship between Zhang and President Xi Jinping, โฃleading to rumors he might potentiallyโ be โforced to step down at the upcoming Fourth plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee.
In addition to the generals, reports indicate that 74 experts and 166 merchants connected to the Rocket Force have been โคbanned from financial activities, suggesting a broad effort to uncover the extent โขof the alleged fraud and โขcorruption.
The situation remains fluid, and theโค full scope ofโ the purge and its implications for china’sโข military capabilities are still unfolding.
Sources:
* newtalk.tw: https://www.newtalk.tw/news/view/2024-03-02/994391
* X โคaccountโค @jianmang054A (asโ referenced in the Newtalk.tw article)
* X account @cskun1989 (for image sourcing asโข referenced in the Newtalk.tw article)
