Corruption vs capability in PLA

ILLUSION OF STRENGTH PARTLY EXPLAINS XI JINPING'S CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO REGIONAL DISPUTES

- Harsh V Pant, Atul Kumar. Respectively vice-president, studies and foreign policy, and fellow, China studies, ORF

For the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), 2024 was a tumultuous year marked by the arrest of numerous senior military officials as part of a comprehensive anti-corruption drive. The Central Commission on Discipline Inspection (CCDI), under President Xi Jinping's guidance, extended its crackdown beyond the upper echelons of the PLA's uniformed branches to include members of even China's Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest military command organisation in the country. In November, Xi's long-term loyalist and CMC member Admiral Miao Hua's arrest sent shockwaves through the entire PLA leadership.

Despite this upheaval in its hierarchy, the PLA significantly expanded its arsenal this year, adding a vast amount of military equipment and advanced weapon platforms to its inventory. This paradox of pervasive corruption alongside enhanced military capability has fuelled debate among experts that the PLA is both corrupt and capable. The US Department of Defense's 2024 China Military Report further buttressed this view by highlighting China's advancements in nuclear, missile, and air-power capabilities. However, entrenched corruption, endemic organisational chaos, and limited expertise in operating hi-tech equipment continue to undermine confidence in the PLA's combat capability. For Xi, these issues remain a source of concern shaping his cautious approach to making decisions in China's immediate neighbourhood.