Jessica Mendoza

A Chinese defense ministry spokesman warned against unfounded speculation and referred back to the original announcement of the probe into Zhang's alleged violations.

Is this sort of accusation and ousting, is this common in China?

Is it a tool that the party generally uses?

And what's happening now, is it any different from what we've seen in the past?

And the reason maintaining control of the chain of command is so important has to do with an island off China's coast.

That's next.

Taiwan has been in China's sights for decades.

The island has been self-governing since 1949 and became a vibrant democracy starting in the late 1980s.

It's not exactly clear when China might push to reunify with Taiwan or what that might look like.

But China's push to modernize its military offers a clue.

Xi Jinping has set 2027 as a deadline for this modernization effort.

The year coincides with the centennial of the People's Liberation Army.

Disagreement over this deadline may have driven the rift between Zhang Yousha and Xi Jinping.

According to analyst research, Zhang had advocated for the Chinese military to delay its modernization efforts, pushing the deadline closer to 2035.

Some analysts say purging the top ranks of the military may have damaged the chain of command, potentially making an invasion less likely.

But open military conflict isn't the only way Xi can put pressure on Taiwan.

One thing that has historically stood in the way of Xi Jinping's Taiwan ambitions is the United States.

Previous administrations have explicitly said that the U.S.

would come to the island's defense in the event of an attack by China.

President Trump has not made that statement.