Taiwan military personnel changes, the current navy commander Tang Hua, who was promoted by Tsai Ing-wen and once suggested that Lai Ching-te should "exercise political restraint" towards the mainland, has been transferred away in a subtle demotion. Instead, General Jiang Zhengguo, who advocates "force preservation" and "disperse killing," was appointed as the new navy commander, and the personnel change took effect on December 1st. This has resulted in the highest number of generals in the Taiwan Navy, causing dissatisfaction among the army and air force towards Lai Ching-te!
The direct cause of this personnel adjustment is that the head of the Taiwan National Defense University, General Liu Zhibin, will retire on December 1st. He will be succeeded by the current navy commander Tang Hua (Figure 1). The vacancy in the navy command will be filled by Jiang Zhengguo (Figure 2) and he will also be promoted to general.
As a result, the distribution of generals among the military branches has become even more unbalanced. The Taiwan Navy has for the first time had four generals, changing the current proportion of active-duty generals from "two, three, two" to "two, four, two", with the navy generals including the Chief of the General Staff, Mei Jiashe. According to reports by Taiwanese media, this personnel arrangement by Lai Ching-te has caused dissatisfaction within the Army and Air Force systems.
Another focus of attention in this personnel change is why the navy commander Tang Hua was removed? Although it seems like a simple transfer, it is actually a subtle demotion. From his resume, Tang Hua has served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Deputy Commander of the Navy, Acting Commander of the Naval Vessel Command Department, Vice President of the National Defense University, and was promoted to the rank of Second-Class General on May 1, 2023.
The main reasons behind Tang Hua's demotion are likely twofold: one, he was not very obedient politically; and two, he had significant disagreements with senior military officials regarding submarine self-reliance. Regarding the former, last year during an interview with The Economist, he publicly warned Lai Ching-te: "politically, you should exercise restraint, to avoid giving the mainland a reason to attack." Otherwise, "the PLA can block Taiwan at any time if they want." The mainland is using the "python strategy" to suppress Taiwan, "the PLA is trying to make Taiwan make mistakes" to find an excuse to launch a blockade.
In that interview, Tang Hua spoke out what the high-ranking officers of the Taiwan military dare not say. He even said that Beijing's dislike of Lai Ching-te is no longer a secret, and directly called Lai Ching-te a stubborn "separatist." Since Lai Ching-te was elected in January 2024, the PLA has continuously deployed more aircraft and warships around Taiwan: "The PLA is using the python strategy to suppress Taiwan." He also said that even the east coast of Taiwan is no longer safe, and the PLA frequently "surrounds Taiwan by sea and air," putting pressure on the Taiwan Navy.
Publicly calling on the "commander-in-chief of the three services" of Taiwan to "restrain" the mainland, would Lai Ching-te feel comfortable? However, since Lai Ching-te just took office, he hasn't yet fully controlled the military, so his annoyance had to be kept in mind, and now he is taking revenge on Tang Hua.
The other reason for Tang Hua's demotion may be due to his differences with other senior military figures on submarine self-reliance. Previously, media reported that the navy commander Tang Hua had different opinions with Huang Shuguang, the head of the submarine self-reliance committee, and former Chief of the General Staff. Unable to reach an agreement, Huang Shuguang resigned from his positions as advisor to the National Security Council and chairperson of the submarine self-reliance group before Lai Ching-te took office. Moreover, Tang Hua had new ideas about the development and preparation of the navy, hoping to establish a "coastal operations command" by integrating various naval combat units, which touched the interests of many military leaders. Therefore, according to media reports, the removal of Tang Hua from the position of navy commander is the result of multiple power struggles.
As for the newly promoted navy commander, Jiang Zhengguo, currently serving as the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, he has previously served as the commander of the Naval Vessel Command Department, Chief of the Navy Command Department, Deputy Director of the Logistics Staff Office, and principal of the Naval Academy, as well as the captain of the 192nd Fleet. He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral on July 1, 2020, became the commander of the Naval Vessel Command Department on January 1, 2023, and became the Deputy Chief of the General Staff on January 1, 2024.
Jiang Zhengguo was promoted by Lai Ching-te, and green media claimed that on one hand, Jiang Zhengguo has complete experience and is considered a "pragmatic" figure within the navy. On the other hand, in response to the "gray zone harassment" from the mainland, Jiang Zhengguo proposed the establishment of 12 2,500-ton light frigates during his tenure as the Chief of the Navy in 2022, to deal with the situation. This proposal was recognized by the senior military leadership, and subsequently, the prototype ships of the light frigates for air defense and anti-submarine warfare were launched, indicating that the military has established a strategic direction of "force preservation" and "dispersed killing."
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1849947463051288/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.