China plans to show off new equipment at parade marking 80th anniversary
of Japan's WWII surrender
[June 24, 2025]
BEIJING (AP) — China plans to hold a military parade Sept. 3
marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender and
featuring the People's Liberation Army's newest weaponry.
President and head of the military Xi Jinping will deliver a speech on
the occasion, which will feature “new-type combat capabilities,”
including hypersonic weapons and a range of electronic gear, said Wu
Zeke, identified as a senor officer of the PLA, the ruling Communist
Party’s military wing. |
Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a screen as Type 99A2
Chinese battle tanks take part in a parade commemorating the 70th
anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II held in front of
Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) |
|
The force is the world’s largest standing military with more
than 2 million members and an increasingly sophisticated arsenal
of missiles, aircraft carriers and fighter aircraft.
Military parades are a favorite of Xi’s, held primarily to mark
the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic in
1949, Japan’s surrender and the anniversary of the PLA's
founding. Relentlessly drilled marching units, armored columns
and aerial units all feature on such occasions.
Wu said inclusion of the latest generation weaponry demonstrates
the PLA’s “strong ability to adapt to technological trends and
evolving warfare, and to prevail in future wars, the official
Xinhua News Agency reported.
Japan launched an invasion of China in 1937, seizing much of
eastern China. Most of the fighting against Japan was carried
out by the Nationalists, who later withdrew to the island of
Taiwan after being driven out of the mainland by the Communists.
Much of China's massive military upgrading has been aimed at
conquering Taiwan, which China still considers part of its
territory, as well as replacing the United States as the main
military power in the Asia-Pacific.
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