CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA ¨C As Russia¡¯s war on Ukraine enters its fourth month, the endgame remains murky.
But one thing is clear: Russia¡¯s military has taken a beating from Ukrainian forces that, at the start of the conflict, were thought to be no match for it. For China¡¯s People¡¯s Liberation Army (PLA), which shares many of the deficiencies that are undercutting Russia¡¯s effectiveness on the battlefield, this should be a wake-up call.
One such deficiency is corruption. Of the world¡¯s 20 largest economies, Russia rates the worst in this domain. Perhaps it should not have been surprising, then, that Russia¡¯s military ¡ª long considered one of the world¡¯s strongest ¡ª has been severely weakened by a variety of abuses. Judging by the number of senior generals arrested for corruption in China in the last decade, the rot inside the PLA may run just as deep.
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