Admiral Miao Hua, a senior member of China’s Central Military Commission, has been suspended and placed under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” a term commonly used in China to indicate corruption. 

Admiral Miao, 69, has been a key figure in China’s military leadership. Since 2017, he has headed the Political Work Department, overseeing party discipline and loyalty within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He is considered a close ally of President Xi Jinping, having worked in Fujian province during the 1990s and early 2000s when Xi was a senior official there.

Miao’s suspension, announced on Thursday by Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian, comes amid a larger crackdown on corruption in the military, which has already led to the removal of former Defense Ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe earlier this year.

Both were expelled from the Communist Party in June for corruption related to military procurement. Investigations have also targeted the PLA’s Rocket Force, which oversees China’s nuclear and missile programs, and have resulted in the dismissal of more than a dozen senior officers and industry executives.