China's military has for the first time sent
dedicated teams of corruption inspectors into its units, state media
said on Thursday, following a practice already established for civilian
departments as part of President Xi Jinping's war on graft.
Previously, corruption investigations in the
People's Liberation Army, the world's largest armed forces, were handled
in a more ad hoc fashion. But under reforms started last year the
military now has a dedicated graft-fighting division.
Xi has led a sweeping anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking officials in industry, government, and the military.
The military is reeling from the crackdown and
has seen dozens of officers investigated, including two former vice
chairmen of the powerful Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong and Xu
Caihou.
Xu died of cancer last year before he could be bought to trial while Guo was accused of accepting bribes last month.
The official Xinhua news agency said the new
graft inspectors completed two days of training on Wednesday and had
been organized into 10 teams who would go to various units around the
country. It did not say which units would get inspectors.
Xu Qiliang, a vice chairman of the Central
Military Commission, which controls the military and which the president
heads, told the inspectors they were fulfilling an important role in
cleaning up and strengthening the armed forces, Xinhua said.
"Keep firmly in mind the expectations and great trust of Chairman Xi," the news agency paraphrased Xu as saying.
The move coincides with broader efforts to
reform the military, including the modernization of its command
structure, as China becomes more assertive in its territorial disputes
in the East and South China Seas.
China is also investing heavily in new
technology, including aircraft carriers, stealth jets and anti-satellite
missiles, though it has not fought a war in decades.
Serving and retired officers have warned that corruption in the military could threaten the ability to wage war.
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