China Unveils New Head of Rocket Force Amid Reported Probes

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(Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinping has overhauled the military leadership managing China’s nuclear arsenal amid reports of a sweeping corruption probe in the rocket force that would play a key role in an invasion of Taiwan.

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The Chinese leader replaced the two most-senior leaders in the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force, a report in state media showed, bringing in new blood from China’s air force and navy — a highly unusual step that suggests a desire for wholesale change in the unit’s upper echelons.

Wang Houbin, previously deputy commander of the navy, is now commander of the rocket force with the rank of general, according to an official Xinhua News Agency report on Monday. Xu Xisheng is now the rocket force’s political commissar, the report said. He previously served in the air force’s Southern Theater Command.

“Wang’s appointment as commander indicates a desire to clean house within the PLARF leadership,” said M. Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Fravel noted it was the first time in 40 years that the top role went to someone from outside the rocket unit: “The appointment of an outsider as a leader often occurs when the senior party leadership has serious concerns about the department’s management.”

Until recently, Li Yuchao was commander of the rocket force. He is now reportedly under investigation for disciplinary violations, along with two of his deputies. The 60-year-old had only been in the job for 16 months.

If confirmed, the probes would deal another blow to Xi’s signature campaign to clean up the PLA, an effort which has spanned nearly his entire tenure. In 2014, China started opening investigations into some of its top current and retired generals, including two vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, the body that oversees the PLA. There was also a 2018 inquiry of Fang Fenghui, who sat on the CMC at the time.

The abrupt changes come as Xi faces other senior personnel issues: last week, his handpicked foreign minister, Qin Gang, was removed from that post without explanation after dropping from public view for one month.

Military Moves

Xi — who as head of the CMC runs the world’s largest armed forces by number of active members — has has made three public calls to strengthen military management in less than two weeks.

The Chinese leader ordered the party to maintain “absolute leadership” over the PLA in mid-July, days before calling for strengthened military governance at a gathering of the elite Politburo. Last week, he instructed the military to push ahead with anti-graft efforts during a visit to an air force facility.

At the same time, in an unusual move, China’s military launched an inquiry into corruption cases linked to hardware procurement going back more than five years. The PLA’s Equipment Development Department listed eight issues it was looking into, including “leaking information on projects and army units” and helping certain companies secure bids.

The military said it was investigating problems going back to October 2017, without saying why that date was significant. China’s current defense minister, Li Shangfu, headed the equipment department from September 2017 to 2022, though there is no sign that he is suspected of wrongdoing.

Those signals have prompted speculation about the military on Chinese social media. A report by Shanghai-based outlet The Paper saying that Wu Guohua, a former deputy commander of the rocket force, died on July 4 of an unspecified illness sparked intense discussion over potential military wrongdoing on China’s Weibo last week. The article was later deleted.

Taiwan Implications

The PLA’s Rocket Force was established in 2015 based on its predecessor, the Second Artillery unit. It was given responsibility for China’s nuclear arsenal and conventional missiles as part of sweeping military reforms, and is in charge of the nation’s land-based missile system.

The unit played a key role in Beijing’s live-fire military drills around Taiwan last August, after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory. China fired 11 ballistic missiles during those drills, including several that passed over the island.

As military tensions with Taiwan climb, Xi has pushed China’s military to modernize, including by stepping up innovation. Under his watch, China set a goal of fielding “a modern military” by 2027. The US’s top uniformed officer, General Mark Milley, has told Congress that Xi wants the ability to overrun Taiwan by 2027.

The ousting of the rocket force’s senior figures could potentially slow efforts to improve the capabilities of the unit central to any potential attack on Taiwan.

Wen-ti Sung, non-resident fellow at Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said that “an uptick in prioritizing political loyalty will likely distract from China’s military modernization push and give it greater cause for caution on Taiwan policy.”

--With assistance from Xiao Zibang.

(Updates throughout.)

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