Xi Jinping Completes His Military Purge, Including PLA Navy's Top Admirals

In the latest issue of the Maritime Executive magazine, the thorough-going purge of China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) was described, a clean-out so comprehensive that it was uncertain if there was anyone left in the high command of the PLA with the necessary experience to prepare for and to execute an invasion of Taiwan. President Xi himself has said repeatedly that the PLA must be equipped and ready to ‘recover’ Taiwan by 2027, the year in which the PLA attains its 100th anniversary and President Xi presents himself for an unprecedented fourth term in office at the 21st Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Congress.

But rather than culminating with the recently-confirmed dismissal of General Zhang Youxia, who as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the equivalent of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the CMC’s most senior officer, the purge has continued. There is almost no officer left in the senior PLA hierarchy to purge – and often replacements have not been appointed, so many posts have now been left open and further purge opportunities are now limited. The PLA Navy has been particularly hard-hit.

This story was originally published by The Maritime Executive. Read the full story at The Maritime Executive →