China’s military vows to improve scrutiny of training after fall of Zhang Youxia

The People’s Liberation Army said it would redouble efforts to crack down on “fakery that undermines combat capability” and improve scrutiny of training and drills to tackle “deep-seated problems”.The pledge was made in an article in official newspaper PLA Daily on Tuesday outlining anti-corruption priorities for the year.It came soon after last month’s announcement that top general Zhang Youxia, first vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was under investigation for corruption, along with another senior officer, Liu Zhenli, chief of the CMC’s Joint Staff Department.Both Zhang and Liu were accused of causing grave damage to the PLA’s combat capability – an accusation that has not been levelled against military top brass in previous corruption cases.08:31What China’s swift ousting of two top military generals means for the PLAWhat China’s swift ousting of two top military generals means for the PLAThe PLA Daily article called for stronger oversight of combat capability, particularly misconduct in training and exercises including “falsification”.