China WWII victory parade
China on Thursday 3rd September 2015, displayed its military might in a massive military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia as well as the Second Sino-Japanese War which resulted in the defeat and surrender of Japan. China suffered the second highest number of casualties during the war in which around 15 million Chinese- 80 per cent of them being civilian – perished in mass scale genocides committed by the belligerent, Japan.
The huge parade involved the participation of 12000 troops along with 200 aircraft, several tanks and other combat vehicles belonging to the People’s liberation army (PLA). One noticeable aspect of the parade was the conspicuous absence of major Western leaders as well as the Japanese Prime minister. The only prominent leaders to be present during the parade were the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. It should be remembered that China has unresolved territorial disputes with most of its neighbors and a growing China is viewed with anxiety and caution by most of its Asian neighbors, most notable among them being Taiwan. Until a few months ago, China was the fastest growing major economy in the world and was dethroned by another rising Asian Giant India with whom too it has boundary disputes.
Several new combat platforms which were hitherto not revealed to the general public were on display for the first time and the most significant among them was the ‘Dongfeng-21D’ or DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles. These missiles touted as ‘Aircraft carrier killers’ are the first ballistic missiles in the world to be developed with anti-shipping capabilities. Launched like strategic ICBMs, they escape the earth’s atmosphere and re-enter at 10 times more than the speed of Sound. At this velocity, the missile becomes literally immune to most available anti-missile countermeasure systems available today and poses a significant threat to the US carrier fleet, should they choose to enter Chinese waters in times of a conflict. This latest D version of the missile series is believed to be a reentry vehicle’ which by definition is an advanced type of missile whose warhead can shift or change its targets even during flight. Another version of the DF-21 missile with anti-satellite capabilities is also believed to exist.
President Xi Jinping during his speech announced troop reduction measures and sought to reassure the World community that China will stay committed to peaceful development. He also stated that China will never seek Hegemony or territorial expansion and will never choose to cause pain and suffering that she herself had suffered in the past, to any nation. That having been said, it is noteworthy that China recently replaced Germany as the world’s third largest arms exporter. From being a large importer of weapons a few decades ago, China has transformed in to the 3rd largest exporter in the world and the latest military parade was entirely comprised of Chinese made weapons systems with not a single Russian weapon platform taking part. Last April, a sale of 8 submarines to Pakistan was finalized making it its most expensive arms sale so far. Talks are currently going on with Thailand which is also looking for submarines from potential sellers.
Vijay ram