Navy Chief Dong Jun becomes the new Defense Minister in China, appointment made 2 months after the removal of ‘missing’ Li Shangfu

China on Friday appointed Dong Jun as its new defense minister, replacing Li Shangfu, who was removed without explanation two months ago after going missing since August. The appointment of the new defense minister comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is upgrading the military as part of his effort to make China a major world power, an aim that has alarmed many neighbors. Dong, 62, was recently the naval chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). According to local media reports, he has previously served in all major divisions of the PLA, including the Northern Maritime Fleet, Eastern Maritime Fleet as well as the Southern Command Theatre.

The role of China’s defense minister is to be the public face of the PLA with the media and other militaries, Reuters reported. However, unlike other countries, the ministry does not have much involvement in defense policy or military management.

What happened to Li Shangfu?

In October this year, China removed Li Shangfu from the post of Defense Minister and State Councilor without any explanation. He took over as defense minister in March, but had not been seen in public since August 25. According to reports, Lee was under US sanctions related to overseeing arms purchases from Russia, which prevented him from entering the country. Since then, China has cut off contact with the US military. Even during Lee’s tenure, he did not meet his American counterpart due to sanctions. In particular, a key element of China’s defense minister’s work is to engage with the US military to reduce the risk of conflict over Taiwan and the South China Sea.