Dong Jun (Chinese: 董军; pinyin: Dǒng Jūn; born in 1961) is a Chinese admiral of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). He was the Commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy from September 2021 to December 2023. On 29 December 2023, he was appointed as the 14th Minister of National Defense; he succeeded Li Shangfu who was removed from office in October 2023. Dong is the first defense minister from the PLAN.
Dong Jun | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
董军 | |||||||
_(cropped)_2.jpg) Dong in 2024 | |||||||
| 14th Minister of National Defense | |||||||
| Assumed office 29 December 2023 | |||||||
| Premier | Li Qiang | ||||||
| CMC Chairman | Xi Jinping | ||||||
| Preceded by | Li Shangfu | ||||||
| 9th Commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy | |||||||
| In office September 2021 – December 2023 | |||||||
| Preceded by | Shen Jinlong | ||||||
| Succeeded by | Hu Zhongming | ||||||
| Personal details | |||||||
| Born | 1961 (age 62–63) Yantai, Shandong, China[1] | ||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||
| Alma mater | Dalian Naval Academy | ||||||
| Military service | |||||||
| Allegiance |  People's Republic of China | ||||||
| Branch/service |  People's Liberation Army Navy | ||||||
| Years of service | 1979–present | ||||||
| Rank |  Admiral | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 董军 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 董軍 | ||||||
| |||||||
Biography
editIn 1978, Dong was admitted to the Dalian Naval Academy, and entered PLAN service in 1979 after graduation. He has been director of the PLAN Command Military Training Department, the deputy chief of staff of the North Sea Fleet, and commander of the 92269 unit.[2]
Dong became deputy commander of the East Sea Fleet in 2013, the PLAN deputy chief of staff in December 2014, and then deputy commander of Southern Theater Command in January 2017.[3] In March 2021, he became deputy commander of the PLAN, and then its commander in August 2021.[4][5] He was named as the commander of the PLA Navy in September 2021.[6]
He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (shaojiang) in July 2012, vice admiral (zhongjiang) in July 2018 and admiral (shangjiang) in September 2021. He has been associated with National University of Defense Technology as an Adjunct Professor since 2013.[7][8]
Minister of National Defense
editOn 29 December 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress appointed Dong as the Minister of National Defense. He was the first defense minister with a naval background; one observer called it the "biggest surprise of 2023" for the PLA.[9] According to political scientist Wen-Ti Sung, the selection of Dong as the defense minister was possibly a sign of ongoing purges within the PLA Rocket Force and the Central Military Commission (CMC)'s Equipment Development Department.[10][11] Unlike his predecessors, Dong is currently not a member of the CMC, and thus, he does not have the decision-making authority within the PLA.[12]
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On 31 January 2024, Dong met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu via teleconference, his first international engagement. During the meeting, Dong stated the militaries of Russia and China should be bolstering mutual trust and expanding cooperation to “elevate the relations between the two militaries to a higher level.”[13] According to the transcript of the meeting released by the Russian Defense Ministry, Dong stated that China would continue to support Russia on the 'Ukraine issue', and despite pressure from the United States and the European Union, "China will not abandon its established policies and the outside world will not interfere with normal cooperation between China and Russia." When asked about Dong's statements at a press briefing, Foreign Ministry of China spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated that China's position remains unchanged and does not provide military aid to either side of the conflict.[14][15] On 11 April, he met with his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Văn Giang at Lào Cai province near the China-Vietnam border and the two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an emergency hotline between the Chinese and Vietnamese militaries.[16] On 27 April, he took part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defense ministers’ meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan where he met with defense ministers of Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, and held separate talks with defense ministers of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.[17] Prior to the defense ministers meeting, on April 26, he met with high-ranking Kazakhstani politicians including President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.[18]
On 31 May 2024, Dong attended the 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore where he met with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. During the meeting, which was Austin’s first with a Chinese counterpart, the two agreed to resume military-to-military communication between the two countries while also at the same time, Austin raised the issues of Chinese military exercises near Taiwan and China's support for Russia's military industry during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 2 June, at a speech at the forum, Dong stated that China stays committed to peaceful reunification with Taiwan but "this prospect is increasingly being eroded by separatists for Taiwan independence and foreign forces." He also stated that China "will take resolute actions to curb Taiwan independence and make sure such a plot never succeeds." He also warned against U.S. arms sale to Taiwan stating that "this kind of behavior sends very wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces and makes them become very aggressive." Regarding the ongoing confrontations between Chinese Coast Guard and Philippine fishing boats near the disputed reefs in the South China Sea, Dong stated "China has maintained sufficient restraint in the face of rights infringements and provocation" but warned that there are "limits to this."[19][20]
On 20 November 2024, Dong held high-level talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus at Vientiane, Laos. The meeting between the two defence ministers came after the Indian and Chinese militaries completed disengagement of troops at friction points at the Line of Actual Control between the two countries. During the meeting, Singh called for reflecting on the "lessons learnt from the 2020 border clashes, take measures to prevent recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquillity along the India-China border."[21]
Corruption allegation
editIn late November 2024, former and current U.S. officials who spoke to the Financial Times stated that Dong was under investigation due to suspicion of corruption.[22] In an enquiry about Dong at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China press conference on 27 November, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the reports regarding investigation on Dong as “groundless” and “shadow chasing”, while spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defence Wu Qian called the reports as "pure fabrications" at a press briefing and further stated that "the rumour-mongers are ill-intentioned" and "China expresses its strong dissatisfaction with such slanderous behaviour."[23][24]
References
edit- ^ "夜话中南海：中共新防长董军与他的"中国海军黄埔"". Radio Free Asia. 2024-12-06. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ "夜话中南海：新任国防部长为何选中了海军出身的董军？". Radio Free Asia. 2023-12-29. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Jiang Ziwen (蒋子文) (27 March 2017). 海军原副参谋长董军少将出任南部战区副司令员. thepaper (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2021.蒋子文Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text)&rft_id=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1648939&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dong Jun" class="Z3988">
- ^ 习近平今再晋升5名上将. rfi.fr (in Chinese). 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Lin Yunshi (林韵诗) (6 September 2021). 时隔两个月再晋上将 战区军兵种军校齐换帅. caixin (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.林韵诗Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text)&rft_id=https://china.caixin.com/2021-09-06/101769669.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dong Jun" class="Z3988">
- ^ "Xi presents orders to promote military officers to rank of general". Archived from the original on 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Xi presents orders to promote military officers to rank of general". chinadaily.com.cn. 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Mei Changwei (梅常伟) (6 September 2021). 中央军委举行晋升上将军衔仪式 习近平颁发命令状并向晋衔的军官表示祝贺. xinhuanet.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.梅常伟Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text)&rft_id=http://www.news.cn/politics/leaders/2021-09/06/c_1127833575.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dong Jun" class="Z3988">
- ^ Fanell, James (May 2024). "Another Historic Year for the PLA Navy". Proceedings. 150 (5): 1, 455.
- ^ "China appoints new defence minister to replace ousted Li Shangfu". Channel NewsAsia. 2023-12-29. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Mahadzhir, Dzhiran (2023-12-29). "First Naval Officer Appointed as Chinese Defense Minister; Predecessor Still Missing". USNI News. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Wang, Amber (2024-05-30). "Shangri-La Dialogue: China's new defence chief Dong Jun expected to take tough stance in security summit debut". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Liu, Zhen (2024-02-01). "China's new defence minister urges 'closest' military relations in first talks with Russian counterpart". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ Shcherbakova, Irina (2024-01-31). "Министр обороны Китая дал обещание Шойгу по поводу Украины". Ura.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Китай прокоментував інформацію про нібито підтримку Росії в "українському питанні"". Ukrinform (in Ukrainian). 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ Thùy, Linh; Thanh, Xuân; Chí, Thành (2024-04-11). "Hội đàm Giao lưu hữu nghị quốc phòng biên giới Việt Nam - Trung Quốc". VTV (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Wang, Xinjuan (2024-04-27). "China-proposed initiatives bring benefits to people worldwide: defense minister". chinamil.com.cn. Xinhua. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Omirgazy, Dana (2024-04-26). "President Tokayev Expresses Appreciation for China's Efforts to Strengthen Cooperation". The Astana Times. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Bertrand, Natasha; Cheung, Eric; McCarthy, Simone (2024-05-31). "US and Chinese defense chiefs hold first in-person talks since 2022". CNN. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Prospect of peaceful 'reunification' with Taiwan being 'eroded', says China". Channel NewsAsia. 2024-06-02. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Sharma, Shivani; Negi, Manjeet (2024-11-20). "Rajnath Singh meets Chinese counterpart, calls for 'cooperation over conflict'". India Today. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Sevastopulo, Demetri (2024-11-27). "China's defence minister placed under investigation for corruption". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Dang, Yuanyue (2024-11-27). "'Groundless': China dismisses report of corruption probe into Defence Minister Dong Jun". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ AFP (2024-11-29). "China says military official Miao Hua suspended and under investigation, but denies reports of Dong Jun's removal". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 2024-11-28.