The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Dong Jun has been appointed as China’s new defense minister, succeeding Li Shangfu, who was officially removed from the position two months ago.
The announcement was made during a Standing Committee meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Friday. Dong, a former navy commander, takes on the role amid a series of dismissals of top military officials earlier in the year, including the removal of Qin Gang as foreign minister in July.
The recent removal of nine senior military officials from the Standing Committee and executives from state-owned missile defense firms suggests a potential broader purge within the military leadership.
Dong, 62, previously served as the commander of the navy since August 2021 and had been the deputy commander of the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea.
The appointment follows the first high-level phone talks between military personnel from China and the US in over a year, signaling a thaw in relations after tensions escalated in 2022.
The recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden also contributed to the improvement in bilateral ties, with an agreement to resume military communications after over a year of no direct communication.
