Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun at public meeting a week after report of graft investigation

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun on Thursday (Dec 5) appeared in public for the first time since a report claimed he was placed under investigation for graft.

Dong was in Shanghai attending a security forum on the Gulf of Guinea, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

According to Xinhua, he met with heads of delegations and conveyed China’s willingness to work with the armed forces of regional countries to share the responsibility of maintaining security in the Gulf of Guinea.

A Financial Times report on Nov 27 sparked speculation about Dong’s political fate. 

The report, citing current and former US officials, said the former People’s Liberation Army Navy chief was under probe as part of a wide-ranging anti-graft investigation.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning had dismissed the report as “just shadow-chasing”.

Two of Dong’s predecessors – Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe – were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party.

It was reported in June this year that they committed “serious violations of discipline”, a euphemism for corruption.

Beijing has deepened a crackdown on alleged graft in the armed forces over the past year, with President Xi Jinping in November ordering the military to stamp out corruption and strengthen their “war-preparedness”.

SYSTEMATIC MARITIME COOPERATION

The seminar on Thursday, which was hosted by the People’s Liberation Army Navy, was attended by maritime armed force leaders and defence attaches from 18 nations which included Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Nigeria.

At the meeting, Dong reportedly called for efforts to promote systematic maritime cooperation.

He had also called for efforts to carry forward the traditional friendship with regional countries and contribute to the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

Xinhua reported that the heads of delegations at the meeting expressed their willingness to enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation with China, and to jointly build a secure, stable and prosperous Gulf of Guinea.