Beijing, China โ China showcased its military might in a parade Wednesday marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II as it seeks to wield greater influence on the global stage.
Leader Xi Jinping, speaking before the parade, paid tribute to Chinese veterans of the war. Since coming to power in 2012, he has sought to build China into a country that cannot be bullied and is strong enough to stand up to foreign powers.
โThe Chinese people are โฆ not afraid of violence and are self-reliant and strong,โ he said.
RELATED NEWS : Xi Meets โOld Friendโ Putin, Kim Jong Un as China Prepares Military Parade Amid Tensions With West
The Chinese military showed off aerial and underwater drones, hypersonic missiles and fighter jets and bombers in a 90-minute event attended by the leaders of about two dozen countries, including Russiaโs Vladimir Putin and North Koreaโs Kim Jong Un.
Chinaโs Communist Party hails progress since World War II
The splashy commemoration of the anniversary is a way to boost support for Communist Party rule by showing the progress made by China. The country was a major front in the war and millions died during Japanโs invasion.
Xi, who has been positioning China as a stabilizing force in an unstable world, said humanity must choose between peace and war and dialogue and confrontation.
โThe Chinese peopleโs rejuvenation cannot be blocked, and the noble goal of the peaceful development of human civilization must triumph,โ Xi said at the end of his speech.
An analyst at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore said the turbulence in U.S. policy is an opportunity for China.
โThis is the right time for China to announce its arrival on the stage, to be a security guarantor, to fill the political, economic, military, diplomatic vacuums,โ said James Char, an assistant professor in the China Program.
Parade showed off drone submarines and hypersonic missiles
Highlights of the weaponry in the parade included the AJX002 underwater drone, a long, black, tube-shaped craft that looks like a narrow submarine with a rear propeller.
Other weapons that got attention were hypersonic missiles designed to take out ships at sea and a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-61, which could carry nuclear warheads to distant targets.
The hypersonic weapons are of particular concern to the U.S. Navy, which patrols the western Pacific from its 7th Fleet headquarters in Japan.
Fighter jets and bombers flew across the sky, some painting colored trails. Helicopters flew in formation, one group of 26 spelling out the number โ80โ for the warโs anniversary year.
The ceremony began with an 80-gun artillery salute, followed by the national anthem, the โMarch of the Volunteers,โ a song composed in 1935 during the early years of resistance against invading Japanese forces.
Trump sends a message
As the parade got underway, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the big question is whether Xi will recognize the contributions of Americans who fought in the war.
โPlease give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,โ he added.
โPlease give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,โ he added.
Putin said that everyone with whom he had spoken during his four-day visit to China had โsupportedโ his meeting with Trump in Alaska last month and expressed their hope that negotiations would end Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine.
โIโm saying this without irony, without joking, as public figures all over the world will see this as I say it, and they will understand,โ Putin said.
Xi reviews troops and reminds them to defend Chinaโs claim to Taiwan
The event began with troops marching in rhythmic lockstep, their boots echoing off the pavement, to be reviewed by Xi, who heads Chinaโs military as chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Xi rode the entire length of their formations along Beijingโs central Changโan Avenue in a classic black limousine. He stood up through the vehicleโs sunroof with four microphones lined in front of him and greeted flanks of personnel as he passed them and rows of armaments and military vehicles.
They shouted back mottos in unison, such as โWe serve the people.โ
The Peopleโs Liberation Army is a heroic military โthe people and the Party can trust and rely on completely,โ Xi said, adding that the armyโs task was to safeguard the countryโs sovereignty and unification โ a reference to Chinaโs claim over the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Across the Taiwan Strait, President William Lai said military might should not be used for aggression or territorial expansion.
โTaiwan does not use the barrel of a gun to commemorate peace,โ he said in a Facebook post. โInstead, it recalls the martyrs, remembers the lessons of history, and upholds the belief in freedom and democracy.โ
SOURCE : AP NEWS |ย Follow Us:ย Facebookย |ย Instagramย |ย Twitterย |ย Youtubeย |
