The ongoing anti-corruption campaign within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has resulted in serious gaps in leadership capability while simultaneously raising valid concerns regarding the PLA’s level of combat readiness as Beijing continues to expand its military capability, according to the latest IISS Military Balance Report.
The IISS Military Balance Report states that the ongoing anti-corruption campaign has disrupted the PLA’s senior-level command and control structure and that there are still significant number of vacant senior-level positions which creates command and control deficiencies that, on a temporary basis, can impact the operational capability of the PLA.
“From an organisational perspective, until the vacancies are filled, the PLA is operating with significant deficiencies in its command and control structure,” said the IISS in its report.
Purge reaches top military leadership
The anti-corruption campaign has already eliminated several of the most senior leaders within the Chinese military through investigations of high-ranking generals and the dismissal of many high-ranking officers from their political and command posts.
Recently, the government of China has made a major move to strengthen its military by removing nine military delegates from its official list. Of those nine, five of them served as full generals and came from key branches of the military such as Army, Navy, Air Force and Strategic Units supporting defence mobilization and Information Support.
The removals are seen by analysts as highlighting the degree of corruption in the Chinese military establishment and creating leadership vacuums in a rapidly modernizing force.
Xi calls purge a “revolutionary” effort
Xi calls this purge a “revolutionary momentum”. According to President Xi Jinping who chairs China’s Central Military Commission, he believes the military needs to be strengthened through this purge, and he called this year an “exceptional and extraordinary” year for the armed forces, leading to “revolutionary reform and change” against corruption.
The campaign represents Xi’s long-standing desire to consolidate control over the military and ensure that the military is politically loyal and operationally secure. Although there will be disruption from these removals, defence experts expect the impact will be short-term. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) noted that corruption can have a demoralizing impact on personnel morale, distort promotions and compromise the quality of weapons procurement; however by removing compromised officers, the Chinese military may actually come out of it as a stronger force.
While at the same time, China’s military growth will continue at an impressive rate.
According to the report, by 2025, China accounted for nearly 44 percent of total defence spending in Asia, up from an average of 37 percent from 2010-2020. There has also been an increase in military deployment of Chinese troops to and around Taiwan, and throughout the Indo-Pacific, which shows the rise of strategic ambition.
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Global Effects
This purge of the PLA is occurring at an essential time in terms of China’s plan to transform the PLA into a world-class combat force that can compete with the United States and be a global power.
In the short run, leadership disruption can lead to delays in decision-making and less operational coordination; however, in the more extended run, many analysts argue that this will result in a more disciplined and politically loyal military.
At this point, there is a clear paradox: while the military is becoming increasingly powerful, at the same time, it is going through a painful restructuring and is showing vulnerabilities behind its rapid growth.
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