Study: China's Military Purge Weakens Command and Hurts Readiness

By Greg Torode

Impact on PLA Command and Readiness

HONG KONG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - China's ongoing military corruption purges are leaving serious deficiencies in its command structure and are likely to have hampered the readiness of its rapidly modernising armed forces, a leading defence research centre said on Tuesday.

Scope of Anti-Corruption Purge

The purges are likely to be incomplete, even though they have so far ranged across its supreme Central Military Commission, theatre commands, weapons procurement and development as well as defence academia, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said. 

Source: IISS 'The Military Balance' report

IISS Military Balance Findings

"From an organisational perspective, until the vacancies are filled the PLA is operating with serious deficiencies in its command structure," the London-based IISS said in its annual Military Balance, a survey of global military forces that is a key research tool for analysts.

The report comes after China's two highest-ranked generals have become ensnared in disciplinary investigations in the highest-profile military purges in decades. Zhang Youxia - a veteran military ally of President Xi Jinping - was placed under investigation in January and He Weidong was expelled in October last year.

CMC Leadership Shake-Up

The crackdown has cut China's seven-man supreme military command body to a committee of just two people - CMC chair Xi himself and a newly promoted vice chairman Zhang Shengmin.

Operational risks: morale and procurement

Near-Term Operational Impact

If personnel had been promoted due to connections, faulty weapons introduced through contract problems and wider morale hampered, "the purge is almost certain to have a near-term impact", the report said.

However, it described the effects as "temporary", adding "modernisation is likely to continue apace".

Indo-Pacific Force Projection

To that end, the report outlined China's extensive and assertive projection of military power in the Indo-Pacific in support of territorial claims and statecraft, noting increased deployments around Taiwan in 2025. 

Xi’s Recent Remarks

Xi made a rare public reference to the crackdown in a virtual address to China's armed forces earlier this month.

"The past year has been unusual and extraordinary," Xi said. "The People's Army has deepened its political education, effectively addressed various risks and challenges, and undergone revolutionary forging in the fight against corruption."

Defense Spending Trends

The IISS report noted that rises in Chinese military spending were consistently outpacing the rest of Asia amid a global surge in defence budgets.

China’s regional share in 2025

China's share of the regional total grew to almost 44% in 2025, up from an average of 37% between 2010 and 2020.

(Reporting by Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Editing by Lincoln Feast)