China has suspended a senior military official and initiated an investigation into allegations of corruption, according to the defense ministry. This action is part of a broader campaign by leader Xi Jinping to cleanse the upper echelons of the nation’s military.

Admiral Miao Hua, a member of the influential Central Military Commission (CMC), which is overseen by Xi, is being investigated for “serious violations of discipline,” a term often used to refer to corruption, as stated by Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian during a press briefing on Thursday.

At 69 years old, Miao leads the Political Work Department of the CMC and is regarded as a close ally of Xi, having worked as a political officer in Fujian province during Xi’s tenure as a local official in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The announcement regarding Miao’s suspension follows a report from the Financial Times indicating that China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun is also under investigation for corruption, as reported by current and former U.S. officials.

The Defense Ministry spokesperson refuted this claim, labeling it as “sheer fabrication.”

“Those spreading rumors have ulterior motives. China strongly disapproves of such slander,” he remarked.

Since last year, Xi has been actively pursuing a comprehensive anti-corruption campaign within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), particularly targeting the Rocket Force, which manages the nation’s nuclear and conventional missile capabilities.

This campaign has resulted in the removal of several high-ranking generals, including former defense minister Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe, both of whom were expelled from the party in June due to corruption allegations.

The current upheaval within the military leadership coincides with Xi’s efforts to enhance the strength, readiness, and assertiveness of China’s armed forces regarding its contested territorial claims in the region. As part of his vision to elevate the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to a “world-class” military, China has invested billions in acquiring and modernizing its equipment.

Since the previous summer, over a dozen senior military officials and aerospace leaders within the military-industrial sector have been removed from their public positions.

The majority of those dismissed were associated with the Rocket Force or military procurement, including former defense ministers Li and Wei.

Li vanished from the public eye shortly after taking office, following an unexpected leadership overhaul within the Rocket Force. He was ousted in October without any official reason and succeeded by Dong, the current defense minister.

In China, the role of defense minister is primarily ceremonial, acting as the public representative for military diplomacy with other nations. Unlike his predecessors, Dong was not appointed to the Central Military Commission (CMC), marking a significant departure from established practices in recent decades.

Miao, the most recent high-ranking military official under investigation, is regarded as a political ally of Dong, who is also an admiral and previously held the position of top commander of the PLA Navy.

Hailing from Fujian, a stronghold for Xi, Miao advanced through the military’s political ranks. In 2014, two years after Xi assumed power, Miao received a significant promotion to political commissar of the PLA Navy, coinciding with Dong’s tenure as deputy chief of staff of the Navy. In 2017, Miao was further elevated to director of the CMC’s Political Work Department.

Since assuming power in 2012, Xi has prioritized the elimination of corruption and disloyalty, making it a defining feature of his leadership. The ongoing purges indicate that this initiative is far from complete within the military.

Lyle Morris, a foreign policy and national security fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, remarked on X, “Corruption within China’s military is not merely an issue of a few individuals acting improperly. It is deeply ingrained in the operations of the PLA, more so than in many other military institutions globally, where legal frameworks and oversight mechanisms can help reveal significant instances of nepotism and corruption.”

“Despite Xi’s determined efforts, corruption in the PLA is likely to persist, posing challenges for both Xi and his future successors for the foreseeable future.”