By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE: China’s most senior military General, a close ally of President Xi Jinping is a subject of an investigation for “suspected serious violation of discipline and law,” The Guardian reported.

Zhang Youxia is the joint Vice - Chairperson of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), second only to Xi in the military command structure, Zhang has long been seen as the Chinese President’s closest military ally.

The Chinese Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the CMC’s joint staff department, were under investigation.

But Reuters reported that, Taiwan said the changes in the Chinese military command structure is a serious concern amid tension between China and the self-ruled Island.

“We will continue to closely monitor abnormal changes among the top levels of China's party, government, and military leadership. The military's position is based on the fact that China has never abandoned the use of force against Taiwan," Defence Taiwan Minister Wellington Koo told reporters at Parliament.