BEIJING - The investigation surrounding graft suspect Xu Caihou, the former vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), proves the Communist Party of China's commitment to fighting corruption, a defense ministry spokesman said Thursday.

"The investigation shows the CPC Central Committee and the CMC are ensuring Party and military members toe the line," Yang Yujun said at a monthly press briefing.

"It shows our Party's zero-tolerance approach, which is supported by the armed forces" Yang said.

Yang confirmed that any of Xu's relatives implicated in graft would be investigated "thoroughly, without exception."

On Tuesday, military prosecutors said Xu had confessed to accepting bribes and the filing of the case had started.P Xu was found to have taken advantage of his position to assist the promotions of others -- accepting huge bribes personally and through his family -- and to have sought profits for others in exchange for money. The bribes were "extremely large," according to a statement from the military procuratorate.

The CPC Central Committee expelled Xu from the Party and handed his case to prosecutors in June at a meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping. Xu had been under investigation since March.

Xu was CMC vice chairman from 2004 to 2012 and was made a general in 1999. Xu has been discharged from military service and his rank of general revoked.

Xu, 71, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in February 2013 and is still undergoing treatment, said a statement on the Defense Ministry website on Tuesday.