In the past few years, there has been a rise in the number of high-level Chinese political and military leaders suddenly disappearing, as Chinese President Xi Jinping escalates his purges against any perceived disloyalty. The wide range of these disappearances throughout military, government and diplomatic offices has sparked some questions about the overall integrity of the Chinese military and the Chinese state.

Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan analyzes what these disappearances signal for Xi Jinping personally and what they mean for Chinese military preparedness. Zeihan contrasts this current era of dysfunction with a previous Chinese era to understand why Xi is moving in this direction, and what it might mean for China as a whole.

The following is excerpted from Peter’s Jan. 11 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:

Xi Jinping is doing his best Darth Vader impression and has the Chinese military in a force choke. After purging the system of anyone who can think, all that remains is the shell of a defense minister (now a press secretary for military diplomacy) and the “real” decision makers — the Central Military Commission — chaired by none other than Xi himself.

The Chinese military has remained largely untouched by Xi’s purges over the years, but this last round sought out any political players and corrupt personnel within the military. So, anyone with two brain cells, overly ambitious or competent, has been “relieved of duty.”

The Central Military Commission, which is now comprised of yes-men and sit-there-and-smile-men, will likely lose any semblance of military preparedness to prioritize ideological adherence. I’ll let you judge what that means for the future of the Chinese military…