By Madhav Menon

The ongoing investigation by the Chinese government into the activities of China’s Rocket Force, responsible for managing the country’s long-range nuclear missiles has resulted in the identification and arrest of at least 70 individuals, Asia sentinal has reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping had disclosed to Xi that Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang played a role in the leak of China’s missile secrets to the US. There were rumours during his arrest that Qin Gang had an extramarital relationship with a US-based Chinese TV journalist who was working for Western intelligence agencies.

According to reports from Politico and Asia Sentinal, the ex-Chinese foreign minister has either been tortured or executed by Chinese authorities. While other reports say he committed suicide a few months back. However, the truth is that Qin Gang and the former head of the Rocket Force General Li Yuchao have not been seen in public since July and there has been little official explanation for their disappearance.

Qing Gang who was the US envoy was personally appointed as the foreign minister in December 2022 by President Xi. The investigation into his activities and removal from his post as the foreign minister within 7 months could come as a huge embarrassment to Xi as Qing Gang was considered one of his close partners and trusted aid.

We had reported earlier that several top Chinese military leaders had either ‘committed suicide’ or been detained for investigation and interrogation. The list includes.

▫️ Wu Guohua, deputy commander of the CCP’s Rocket Force, allegedly committed suicide on Jul 6.

▫️ Li Yuchao, commander of Rocket Force, was taken away during a meeting on Jun 26, detained & and interrogated.

▫️ Li Shangfu, Defense Minister and former chief of the PLA’s armaments and procurement from 2017 to 2022

▫️ Xu Zhongbo, commander and political commissar of the PLA Rocket Force.

▫️ Wei Fenghe, former commander of Rocket Force, and former Minister of National Defense, is under investigation.

▫️ Zhang Zhenzhong, former deputy commander of the Rocket Force and current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission Joint Staff Department, is under investigation.

▫️ Liu Guangbin, deputy commander of the Rocket Force, is under investigation.

▫️ Shang Hong, the deputy commander of the Strategic Support Force and the commander of the Space Force, qualification as a representative to the National People’s Congress revoked in Oct 2022, and has not appeared in public again.

▫️ Feng Yanghe, a foremost expert in AI military strategy and was once involved in simulating the “Armed Unification of Taiwan” died mysteriously

▫️ Ju Qian Sheng, Commander of the PLA Strategic Support Forces is also apparently missing as per certain reports. He was also reported as the man behind Cyberware against #India during #Galwan, by Sunday Guardian. He has been involved in corruption and leakage cases as per local Media.

▫️ Lt. General Wang Shaojun, former head of the Central Security Bureau, dies of an unknown illness on 26 April, aged 67.

▫️ Liu Shiquan (Chairman of China Ordnance Group)

▫️ Yuan Jie (Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation)

▫️ Chen Guoying (General Manager of China Ordnance Equipment Group)

▫️ Tan Ruisong, former Chairman and Secretary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China dismissed in March 2023

The recent revelations about the intelligence leak and the level of purge that the Chinese military has undergone indicate that the US had managed to infiltrate deep into the Chinese military leadership.

In addition, there have also been reports of huge corruption within the Chinese military that has impacted the quality of the weapons and the equipment due to lower quality control standards. Xi’s purge also seems to have specifically targeted the logistics and procurement. If the corruption within Chinese logistics and procurement is widespread then Xi will need to completely overhaul the logistics network. This also means that Xi could further gain greater governance over logistics and procurement, and clamp down on the network of his rivals within the CCP.

China will possibly have a significant financial burden to overhaul its structure, weapons and equipment to mitigate the damage from the corruption and the intel leaks. Finances which initially could have been invested into the Chinese development projects which benefited the people.

Moreover, if Xi is to make any move against Taiwan, He will need to ensure that the Chinese Rocket Force is battle-ready and the Chain of command has the political loyalty to operate and carry out its orders immediately without any intelligence or operational deployments being leaked to the US. Especially considering the recent developments could empower Xi’s political opponents within the CCP.

The unfolding story which is being heavily censored within China can expose Xi’s vulnerabilities and diminish his influence abroad and his popularity within.