China set to reshuffle military top brass with an eye on Taiwan
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A 2019 photo showing President Xi Jinping addressing a parade in Beijing marking the 70th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has a dearth of generals with combat experience as China has not fought a war since 1979, when it briefly invaded Vietnam to "teach (it) a lesson" for making military incursions into Cambodia and deposing the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge the previous year.
So when the PLA Ground Force's General Zhang Youxia, a veteran of the month-long conflict along the 600km China-Vietnam border, became the second-ranked vice-chairman of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission (CMC) in 2017, the appointment gave rise to speculation about Chinese intentions regarding self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing has claimed as its own since 1949.