That accusation usually refers to corruption. An investigation into a commission member like Miao is significant because the six-member committee, helmed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping himself, is the top body that oversees China's military forces.

In an effort to create a cutting edge force, the Chinese Communist party (CCP) has spent billions of dollars expanding and modernising its armed forces at a pace rarely seen in peace time.

China has suspended a top military official and placed him under investigation for corruption, the defense ministry said, as leader Xi Jinping broadens a sweeping purge in the upper ranks of the world’s largest military.