China names former navy chief Dong Jun as new defence minister

News Snapshot:

China has announced the appointment of a new defence minister, two months after the previous office holder Li Shangfu was stripped from his position without explanation. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress – China’s de facto legislature – announced on Friday that Dong Jun, 62, would be the new defence minister. Dong was most recently the chief of China’s navy. The announcement comes days after three senior executives from the aerospace defence industry were removed from a top advisory body to the Chinese Communist party (CCP) as part of a shake-up of the military that is thought to...