Why Is China’s Rocket Force Being Purged?
Why is China’s Rocket Force Is Being Purged? 2023.08.02 No.252
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On the eve of the PLA Army Day, the CPC military held a promotion ceremony to the rank of general. The new commander and political commissar of the Rocket Force both received the rank of general. Outsiders thus learn that the military and political chiefs of the Rocket Force have been replaced at the same time. The new Commander had previously served in of the Navy, while the new Political Commissar had previously served in the Air Force. Both come from outside the Rocket Force system. This also means that Li Yu Chao, 60 years old, who only took office in January last year, has resigned as commander, and Xu Zhong Bo, 62, has resigned as political commissar. The Rocket Force is a highly specialized force, and since its establishment, its first three commanders have come from within the Rocket Force system, the political commissars have been transferred from other systems, though. This time, both the military and political chiefs were replaced at the same time, and, moreover, both new chiefs were from other military branches. This is an unusual practice.
At the end of June, the former commander, Li Yu Chao, was absent from the Rocket Force’s rank promotion ceremony, and his whereabouts are still unknown. This has aroused much speculation. Subsequently, there were rumors that Li Yu Chao was under investigation by the anti-corruption agency since June 26. According to Hong Kong media, Liu Guang Bin, deputy commander of the Rocket Force, and Zhang Zhen Zhong, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Military Commission, who used to serve in the Rocket Force, had also been under investigation. There were rumors that former Minister of Defense Wei Feng He, also the first commander of the Rocket Force, was under investigation, too. And Wu Guo Hua, a retired deputy commander of the Rocket Force, committed suicide. Only recently did the CPC military announce that he passed away due to illness. Obviously, the Rocket Force top brass must have been in big trouble. And this time, the simultaneous replacement of the military and political chiefs of the Rocket Force also confirms that the top brass of the Rocket Force has been purged.
As we know, the CPC’s military has always been dominated by the land forces and most of the top military officers come from the land forces. For example, the military and political chiefs of the major military regions and the vice-chairmen of the Military Commission basically come from the land forces. Since Xi Jinping came to power, his focus of the purge has naturally been on the high rank officers from the land forces as well as their subordinates in the army. After Xi Jinping punished Guo Bo Xiong and Xu Cai Hou as well as Zhang Yang and Fang Feng Hui, many senior army officers associated with them have also been purged. After Xi Jinping became the head of the CPC, he must have set it as his objective to ensure that all military branches were absolutely obedient. But there may be a prioritization of when to purge a particular branch of the military, and the Rocket Force may have been placed at the end of the line. Now, it is time for the Rocket Force to be purged.
It doesn’t really matter what exactly triggered it. The purge of the top brass of the Rocket Force should be inevitable. This time, the military and political chiefs of the Rocket Force were replaced by those from other military branches at the same time; this reflects Xi Jinping’s tough and vicious determination to thoroughly purge and control the Rocket Force. The fact that Xi Jinping did not massively purge the Rocket Force before does not mean that he trusted them. He may just be waiting for the time when all the Rocket Force projects are largely completed before he starts the purge. This is not the first time that Xi Jinping has eliminated his meritorious subordinates once they have ceased to be useful.
Some people believe that the purge of the high rank officers in the Rocket Force must be due to their own problems, and that they must have disobeyed Xi Jinping in some way. Implicit in this idea is a premise that Xi Jinping is a normal leader, rather than a troublemaker. However, this premise is precisely wrong. In fact, all of Xi Jinping’s plans and major actions are based on and start from the consolidation and strengthening of his personal power. In order to achieve this goal, he will do absolutely anything. This time, when the Rocket Force has been purged, Xi Jinping is most likely making a fuss, or taking advantage of the problems to find an excuse. Some may say that the Rocket Force officers are already very obedient, but for such a greedy man as Xi Jinping, give him an inch and he will take a mile. He wants the officers to be more obedient and submissive, and he wants the entire military to be more obedient and submissive. Most likely, Xi Jinping’s purge of the Rocket Force is intended to serve as a warning to the entire military and to consolidate his absolute control over the military force. Xi Jinping wants to establish his absolute authority, and the military generals will have to bow down to him with respect and obedience.
It’s well-known that the CPC army is widely corrupted, and it’s no surprise that the Rocket Force’s top generals are involved in corruption. However, Li Yu Chao, the resigned commander of the Rocket Force, has only been in office for more than a year, and has only just controlled the situation. After all, time is limited even if he wants to sell official titles and be indulged in corruption. Besides, the suicide of the deputy commander of the Rocket Force is officially declared a death of illness. Presumably, his problem is not too serious. The Rocket Force senior that was purged should not be charged with very serious crime. It is said that the son of Rocket Force Commander Li Yu Chao sold secrets to the U.S. This is not credible, because Li Yu Chao was not the only one who was purged. Several senior officers in the system were also involved. It is unlikely that many people were involved at the same time in the same case of confidential leaks.
Of all CPC military branches, the Rocket Force probably demands the highest degree of confidence. It is also the branch that foreign specialized agencies are highly concerned about. Last month, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization, published a 73-page report on the PLA Rocket Force’s Order of Battle 2023. The report details the coordinates of six Rocket Force bases, as well as the types of weapons and the number of launchers each operational unit possesses. The report mentions in particular that the number of Rocket Force operational missile brigades has doubled and has increased to at least 40 in the past decade. The detailed report has led to speculation that its contents should have come from within the Rocket Force, meaning that it was confidential leaks. However, as a U.S non-governmental organization, it is impossible for the Institute to cite secret intelligence publicly. The study, however detailed it may be, must be based on information that has already been made public. If, indeed, there is top-secret information from within the Rocket Force, the U.S will never allow it to be made public; otherwise, it would be exposing the source of information, exposing their own spies, and destroying their own intelligence network. To do so goes against common sense. Besides, last October, the China Aerospace Studies Institute, a U.S think tank, released a more detailed study on the CPC’s rocket forces. The report was 255 pages long and included such information as base addresses, the main functions of the units, the names of those in charge, unit numbers, and upgrading of the number, quality and types of missiles. The director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute says that this is the most comprehensive report on the organizational structure of the Rocket Force to date, but that the contents of the report are all based on public information. Therefore, there should be no relationship between the U.S report on the PLA Rocket Force Oder of Battle and the purge of China’s Rocket Force system. Even if the purge involves leaks, it has nothing to do with the public report of the U.S. research institute. Moreover, if espionage is really involved, at most it will only involve a certain senior officer; it is unlikely that many people are involved.
There is a rumor that Qin Gang, Foreign Minister and former Ambassador to the U.S, was dismissed because of the Rocket Force leaks. Such a rumor is totally unbelievable. The CPC embassies abroad include military attachés who are openly representatives of the military, as well as secret agents who come from the intelligence agencies. The ambassadors know their identities, but will not interfere with their work. Whether the personnel come from the military system or the National Security System, they all have their own systems. If they have obtained important information, they will report to their superiors within their own system. Rumor has it that agents were informed that the son of Rocket Force Commander Li Yu Chao had sold secrets to the U.S. The agents reported this to Qin Gang, whereas Qin Gang failed to report it to Xi Jinping in a timely manner, and thus he was punished by Xi Jinping. This is a strange and absurd claim. The problem with it is that ambassadors have no control over the transmission of important military intelligence. What is more, Qin Gang’s failure to report to Xi Jinping makes no sense except to get himself into trouble. The rumor about Rocket Force leaks is incredible, and Qin Gang’s involvement in the leaks is even less credible.
The fact that the Rocket Force system has been purged does not necessarily mean that the officers have problems of their own. Since there has been no strong bond between Xi Jinping and the military, he did not have many cronies within the system. Therefore, Xi Jinping has changed military senior officers frequently, creating a situation where the subordinate and the superior do not know each other. He thus makes it difficult for the senior officers to form parties, or get out of his control, although the military has been purged in the name of fighting against corruption. Obviously, Xi Jinping is extremely guarded against military generals. To be sure, in order to deter the military generals, it is Xi Jinping’s inevitable choice to maintain a continuous high-pressure situation towards them. And this necessitates sending out warnings from time to time and always making an example. There will always be someone singled out by Xi Jinping for punishment, and it is not surprising that the Rocket Force has been chosen. It is both accidental and inevitable that the Rocket Force generals are purged. Previously, the Rocket Force seemed to be the favorite of Xi Jinping, and the first Rocket Force commander was promoted to the position of Minister of Defense. However, for a dictator, there is no such thing as someone who can be trusted. Anyone who is of value to the dictator is only of use. For example, Zhang Yang and Fang Feng Hui, who were purged by Xi Jinping. Both had played an important role in Xi Jinping’s successful military reform. During their tenure, Xi Jinping also seemed to show great trust in them. However, Xi Jinping spared none of them in order to strengthen his control over the military. Xi Jinping always single out certain figures to make an example of them, so as to deter the whole military. In fact, Xi Jinping’s constant purges of military high officers have become the new normal.
After Xi Jinping came to power, he has obviously accelerated his pace of annexation of Taiwan by military force. Military threat against Taiwan has grown even more serious since Xi Jinping started his third presidential term. Especially in these recent months, Xi Jinping has been inspecting the four major Theater of Operations. Apparently, he is urging the preparation for war. In addition, in late July, Xi Jinping held a conference on the construction of the CPC and the military. Xi Jinping focused on the most serious problems of the CPC agencies at all levels, and his emphasis was placed on the CPC’s absolute leadership of the military, as well as on the preparation for war and the ability to fight wars. That is, Xi Jinping’s emphasis was placed on his absolute leadership of the military, as well as on the military’s capable of fighting. As can be imagined, if Xi Jinping decides to start a war in the Taiwan Strait, the Rocket Force should be the first and most important combat force. After the Rocket Force’s war capacity is basically up to standard, Xi Jinping will inevitably strengthen his control over the Rocket Force in order to launch the war successfully. As the last military branch to be purged, the purge of the Rocket Force’s top brass may be his major step before the Taiwan Strait War.
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