India, Jan. 28 -- By removing General Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), and General Liu Zhenli, chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department and member of the CMC - China's senior-most military officials - Chinese President Xi Jinping has definitively set to rest rumours circulating for over a year that his position has been undermined and is threatened. The rumours pointed to opposition from the upper echelons of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The dismissals also confirmed more recent rumours that generals Zhang and Liu were being investigated.

The official confirmation on January 24, nevertheless, surprised observers. The announcement by the spokesman of China's ministry of national defence was c...