|
 China will hold up to four PLA parades in the coming years in the
face of what Beijing sees as a more assertive Japan under Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, who wants to ease the fetters imposed on
Tokyo's defense policy by a post-war, pacifist constitution.
The parades are also intended to show that Xi has full control over
the armed forces amid a sweeping crackdown on military graft that
has targeted top generals and caused some disquiet in the ranks, a
source close to the Chinese leadership and a source with ties to the
military told Reuters.
As military chief, Xi will review the parades and be saluted by PLA
commanders during events expected to be broadcast nationwide.
"Military parades will be the 'new normal' during Xi's (two 5-year)
terms," the source with leadership ties said, referring to the
phrase "xin changtai" coined by Xi to temper economic growth
expectations in China.
The frequency of the parades would be a break from recent tradition.
Xi's predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, only held a military
parade in 1999 and 2009 respectively to mark the founding of the
People's Republic in 1949.
 The military parade to be held on Sept. 3 in Beijing would mark the
70th anniversary of the end of World War Two. It would be Xi's first
since he took over as Communist Party and military chief in late
2012 and state president in early 2013.
Troops were already drilling in secret on the outskirts of Beijing
for the event, said the sources, who requested anonymity to avoid
repercussions for speaking to foreign media.
The sources had no details on the new weapons that would be
displayed, but China has an ambitious high-tech development program,
including anti-satellite and anti-aircraft carrier missiles as well
as stealth fighter jets.
Lieutenant-General Song Puxuan, former president of the Chinese
National Defense University and who was appointed commander of the
Beijing Military Region in January, would lead the September parade,
the source with leadership ties said.
GRAFT IN CROSS-HAIRS
China would also hold a military parade on Oct. 1, 2019 to celebrate
the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic and was contemplating
two more to mark the 90th anniversary of the PLA on Aug. 1, 2017 and
the 100th anniversary of the party on July 1, 2021, the sources
said.
"Military parades are to demonstrate Xi is in control over the
military and boost morale," said the source with ties to the PLA.
Xi is waging the boldest war on corruption in China in decades,
especially in the military, a risky move because it has hurt morale
and could spiral out of control, undermining his and the party's
grip on power, experts have said.
[to top of second column] |
The most senior military figure under investigation is General Xu
Caihou, who retired as vice chairman of the state Central Military
Commission in 2013. That probe has focused on the widespread selling
of military promotions.
Serving and retired Chinese military officers have said graft in the
PLA is so pervasive it could undermine China's ability to wage war.
REMEMBERING THE PAST
Military parades are also aimed at sending a message to neighbor
Japan and to strengthen national patriotism, the two sources said.
China and Japan have long sparred over their past. China
consistently reminds its people of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in
which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in its then
capital. A postwar Allied tribunal put the death toll at 142,000,
but some conservative Japanese politicians and academics deny the
massacre took place.
The world's second and third largest economies have also been at
loggerheads over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Abe has a stated goal of a stronger security profile for Japan that
includes passing a law in 2015 to reinterpret the country's pacifist
constitution.
This would allow Japan to come to the aid of an ally and pave the
way for its troops to fight overseas for the first time since World
War Two.
But it is China's growing assertiveness and the lack of transparency
about the ambitions of the world's biggest armed forces that has
mostly worried countries in the region. Some of China's actions in
the disputed South China Sea have also drawn criticism from
Washington.
(Editing by Dean Yates)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
