Missiles filled with water, not fuel? What 'secret’ did Xi Jinping discover that led to military purge in China?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a huge internal cleanup in his defence administration. Recently, he removed many of his top officers from their respective posts and even launched investigations into them. Amid the speculations around the reason behind this sudden military purge, a report has indicated something bigger than corruption within the defence team. The report, which cited US intelligence, has claimed that the purge could be a result of an incident when Chinese nuclear missiles were found filled with water instead of fuel. Yes, you read that right.

The report has now raised the question if this was the reason behind the firing of China's Rocket Force leadership in 2024, and now the removal of one of the top military officers of Xi, General Zhang Youxia. Zhang was Beijing's top uniformed officer and an aide of Xi. He was detained on January 19, 2026, for allegedly leaking China's nuclear-weapons data to the US, accepting bribes for promotions, and compromising the combat readiness of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). There are rumours that the investigation of Zhang is linked to nuclear security lapses.

In 2014, Bloomberg had reported, citing a US intelligence officer who said, "One example of corruption was that entire fields of silos in a Xinjiang missile field in Western China were fitted with lids that prevented missiles from launching effectively".

"While there may be water in some of China's missiles now, it cannot be assumed that this will remain the case. Xi's dramatic response to the corruption indicates he is serious about building up China's nuclear forces," according to a January 2025 article in the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"There would be no reason to put water in the missiles unless it was deliberate sabotage," according to The Asia Times report from January 2024.