Sweeping change of China's top military guard
Reshuffle of senior military brass and armed police comes amid graft crackdown
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 27 December, 2014, 2:37am
UPDATED : Saturday, 27 December, 2014, 2:37am
Nectar Gan and Teddy Ng
Defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said on Thursday that the reshuffle was standard practice. Photo: CNS
Dozens of top military cadres, including the commander and the political commissar of the key South Sea Fleet, have been swept up in a major reshuffle at the top of the People's Liberation Army over the past few weeks.
A military observer said the changes were tied to the ongoing push against corruption but the defence ministry insisted they were simply routine.
The winter reshuffle, apparent from indirect references in state and military media reports, comes as President Xi Jinping's graft crackdown rolls its way through the military, a campaign epitomised by the arrest of Xu Caihou , once the military's second-in-command.
It also coincides with an unverified list online of some 40 generals that have changed jobs in recent weeks.
But defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said on Thursday that the reshuffle was standard practice.
"The military reshuffles leading officers at opportune times every year. These are normal personnel arrangements," Yang said, according to a transcript on the ministry's website.
Among the most-watched changes had been the appointment of South Sea Fleet commander Jiang Weilie , 59, as the PLA Navy's deputy commander, and fleet political commissar Wang Dengping , 62, as the navy's deputy political commissar, Caixin reported, citing a report on the PLA Daily's official microblog.
A similar changing of the guard took place at the top of the People's Armed Police, with commander Wang Jianping , 61, becoming deputy chief of the general staff of the PLA, Caixin said, citing a CCTV report on Wednesday.
Wang's political commissar, Xu Yaoyuan , was appointed on Monday as the commissar for the Chinese Academy of Military Science, swapping roles with Sun Sijing , the report said.
Gao Jin , 55, who was named assistant chief of general staff in the summer, has been promoted to president of the academy.
Elsewhere, Miao Hua , 59, political commissar of the Lanzhou Military Region, was appointed as the navy's political commissar.
Military analyst Ni Lexiong said the personnel reshuffle was related to the ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
"Reshuffling 40 military officials is a major move, reflecting the seriousness of corruption in the military and the determination of the top leadership to fix the problem," Ni said.
"The thinking is to avoid people serving in the same command for a long period of time, something that is essential if people are to be stopped from forming factions within the military."
