Sources: All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources, and is detailed at the end of the article
Dong Jun held talks with Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Khaled bin Salman, who visited Beijing on June 25, and Austin also took the initiative to talk to Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on the same day.
There are new developments among the defense ministers of the three countries, which makes people wonder, how much power does the defense minister have?
There is no actual military command
The Chinese and US defense ministers held talks in Singapore on May 31, spanning more than a year of face-to-face meetings, the international situation has changed a lot during this period, the communication lasted 75 minutes, the two countries and two militaries, Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Ukraine crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, etc., the two major powers exchanged views with each other.
Military dialogue brings hope and positive signals are released, but what exactly is the right of this defense minister?
In the early days of the founding of New China, the military system was basically copied from the "big brother" of the Soviet Union, and at that time, the Minister of National Defense had an extremely high status and great powers, and the National Day military parade and speech were the embodiment of his rights.
In essence, it is a department established in accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, and all military work that requires the responsibility of the government is usually implemented directly through the Ministry of National Defense or in the name of the Ministry of National Defense after the State Council has made corresponding provisions.
The basic function is well understood: unified management of the building of the national armed forces, such as recruitment, establishment, equipment, training, rank and salary, etc., and it can be seen from this that it is more responsible for "culture" and has no actual military command.
If there is no command, how can we talk about mobilizing the army? However, this does not affect the efforts made in peace and stability.
On June 25, he met with the defense minister of Saudi Arabia, and Dong Jun talked with him about the hope that the two militaries will build a pattern of military cooperation with higher mutual trust, pragmatism and sustainability while consolidating the existing achievements based on the background of long-term friendship.
In addition to him, Mozambican Defense Minister Christowang Sumy also met with Dong Jun on the 27th, and the two sides reviewed the increasingly close exchanges between the two armies and stressed that peace is of strategic significance for maintaining regional stability.
Fighting Nation Russia
Russia is somewhat different from China in that it advocates force, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 has also become a scar, and the army began to be formally formed in May 1992, and the process is naturally tortuous.
During the Yeltsin, Putin, and Medvedev periods, each had its own characteristics, and the purpose of continuous reforms was to build a strong army and thus maintain Russia's position as a military power.
The development of time has allowed Russia to gradually form a four-level command structure of the president, the defense minister, the general staff, the joint combat command, the independent arms command, and the troops, and the defense minister is responsible for strategic decision-making together with the president.
Putin's 2004 revision of the "National Defense Law" readjusted the relationship between the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff, and the principle was revised to the Minister of Defense to exercise command of the armed forces through the Ministry of Defense, which means that the leadership of the Russian army is concentrated in the hands of the Minister of Defense.
For the first time in 12 years, the Minister of Defense was replaced, and a general was replaced, and Shoigu's place was replaced by an economist.
Andrei Belousov's status was even more needed in a war-torn Russia, with security sector spending accounting for 6.7% of GDP and a growing budget, and Andrey Belousov could use his expertise to help Russia strengthen mobilization and make up for shortcomings.
Although public opinion widely believes that "it is not right", Belousov is not ignorant of military affairs, and he has played an important role in Russia's drone program, personally supporting the research and development of domestic high-tech, which is in Putin's appetite.
Shoigu is excellent, but a Russian-Ukrainian conflict has made Putin more and more aware that the army needs to be modernized, and being conservative will only fall into a disadvantage in actual combat, and if it wants to win in the war, Russia needs comprehensive considerations, of which economic factors are particularly important.
The efficiency of the use of national defense financial resources seems to have nothing to do with war, but in Russia, it is also a matter that the defense minister needs to balance.
Monopoly of military command
When it comes to the U.S. Department of Defense, the secretary is famous, and the defense budget is also a blockbuster every year.
In 2024, the U.S. defense budget will reach a record high of $842 billion, and the ambition to strive for "global dominance" is also clearly revealed.
According to the U.S. Constitution, although the president is the commander-in-chief of the three armed services, he must notify Congress within 48 hours before launching a military operation, and if Congress does not authorize it, foreign military operations must be completed within 60 days.
The Department of Defense is the supreme leadership organ of the US armed forces, and the development of such a state is actually "contrary" to the original intention of the United States.
The United States became independent in 1774, and although the Army and Navy were established, the secretary explicitly requested that civilian officials serve as the positions.
The consequences of the Second American-British War made the Americans determined to change, and the creation of the General Staff thought that the problem could be solved, and then new troubles arose, and the front-line commanders were often entangled in who to obey, and it was not until 1947 that Congress passed the "National Security Act" and established the post of Secretary of Defense, but at this time, the Secretary of Defense was only equal to the Ministers of the three services.
In 1949, the policy was upgraded again, and the power was strengthened, and the problem of the navy, land and air force was solved through the preparation of a budget.
However, then-Secretary of Defense Austin gave Biden a big surprise at the beginning of 2024.
Austin was admitted to the intensive care unit on January 1 because of surgical complications, but it wasn't until three days later that Biden learned that his Treasury secretary was in the hospital.
The specific scope of powers of the defense ministers of China, the United States, and Russia is different, and the rest of the countries are the same, so can it be said that different situations are analyzed differently, and different countries give different scopes, and they must also be based on their own considerations, and it is good to respect and understand.
Reference: People's Daily Online: 2015-10-5: Detailed explanation of Russia's military reform: straightening out the leadership and command system, merging and reorganizing military regions
Civil Service Examination Information Network: The main responsibilities of the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
Reference news: 2024-6-26: The Russian and US defense ministers spoke for the first time in more than a year! The two sides reported "very different"
China Military Network: 2016-3-21: Overview of the United States of America Army