'Systemic Rot' in China's Military Should Give Beijing Pause—US Official
Published Feb 14, 2024 at 4:49 AM EST
The series of recent corruption scandals that have rocked the senior ranks of the Chinese military should make Beijing think twice about whether its forces are ready to fight, a senior U.S. defense official has said.
Widespread purges in China's rocket forces as well as throughout its defense industrial complex and defense contractors "should give China's leadership pause about how deep and how systemic that corruption runs," Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told the War on the Rocks podcast released on Tuesday.
"And frankly, are they ready? The fundamental question is, will they succeed if they were to choose to employ aggression?" he said.
China's Foreign Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment before publication.
https://www.newsweek.com/china-military-systemic-corruption-capability-modernization-ely-ratner-pentagon-1869734
