China's V-Day parade to highlight peace, pledge to defend international fairness, justice

BEIJING -- China's massive V-Day military parade, scheduled for Sept 3 in Tian'anmen Square, is meant to signal that the country upholds peace and will firmly defend international fairness and justice, a military official said Wednesday.

Wu Zeke, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Military Parade and a senior officer of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at a news conference to outline preparations for the parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

The 70-minute parade will proceed in two steps: a military review by President Xi Jinping and a march-past of troops in Tian'anmen Square, according to the military officer.

Troops participating in the parade will be lining up in formations along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, and they will be reviewed by Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CMC, Wu said.

The parade will demonstrate the armed forces' firm commitment to following the command of the CPC and their loyalty to the Party's leadership core, he added.

A total of 45 formations and echelons will be involved in the grand parade, Wu said, adding that during the parade march-past, airborne flag-guarding echelons, foot formations, battle flag formations, armament columns and aerial echelons will pass through or fly across Tian'anmen Square in order.

Currently, all parade preparations have been basically completed, according to the military officer.

The parade will be the first of its kind after China embarked on its new journey to pursue Chinese modernization on all fronts, Wu said, adding that will showcase that under the leadership of the CPC, the country and the armed forces have grown strong, and the great spirit of the War of Resistance lives on.

He noted that the parade will demonstrate to the world that the victory 80 years ago was a triumph of justice over evil, light over darkness, and progress over reaction.

China was the first to fight against fascist aggression and sustained the longest resistance. With huge national sacrifice, the Chinese people held ground in the main theater in the East of the World Anti-Fascist War.

China tied down and fought the bulk of Japanese forces, wiping out more than 1.5 million enemy troops in the war, Wu said, highlighting that China had made a major contribution to the triumph of the World Anti-Fascist War.

In 1945, after 14 years of resistance, China achieved victory at a tremendous cost of 35 million military and civilian casualties, accounting for one-third of the total casualties suffered by all countries in World War II.

Japan surrendered on Sept 2, 1945, signing the Instrument of Surrender to China and other Allied powers. China celebrated the victory the following day. In 2014, the country legislated to designate Sept 3 as Victory Day of its War of Resistance.

On Sept 3, 2015, Xi reviewed troops in a parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory, the first non-National Day parade held in Tian'anmen Square.

Foreign leaders have also been invited to attend this year's parade.

Wu said China will work together with peace-loving countries and people across the world to uphold and advocate the correct historical view of World War II, resolutely safeguard the post-war international order, firmly defend international fairness and justice, firmly oppose all forms of hegemonism and power politics, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

NEW STRUCTURE

Xu Guizhong, a senior officer from the Central Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told the press conference that the parade is organized under a wartime command system, and will involve thousands of troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of ground armaments.

A new layout of the structure of the Chinese armed forces will be displayed for the first time in the parade, according to Wu.

Led by the Party, national and military flags, troop formations will march during the parade, holding the flags of various military forces as well as the flag of the People's Armed Police Force, Wu said.

The PLA's new system of services and arms, comprising four services of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Rocket Force, as well as four arms of the Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, the Information Support Force, and the Joint Logistics Support Force, was established as part of Xi's military reform plan.

Under Xi, military reforms took on an unprecedented pace. The Army now accounts for less than 50 percent of the total active-duty personnel; non-combat units have been cut by nearly half; and the officer corps has been reduced by 30 percent -- all to streamline the military and improve combat capabilities.

LATEST ARMAMENTS

The parade will showcase a series of new-generation armaments, such as fourth-generation tanks and aircraft, unmanned intelligence and counter-unmanned equipment, and advanced missiles including hypersonic ones, Wu said.

A large proportion of the weapons will be making their public debut, Wu added.

All the armaments to be displayed are domestically made and in active service, said Wu.

Directed-energy weapons and electronic jamming systems will also be displayed, he said.

In addition, the parade will feature other types of advanced equipment such as hypersonic and air defense anti-missile equipment and strategic missiles, which will demonstrate China's powerful strategic deterrence capability, Wu noted.

With a high level of informatization and intelligence, the weapons and equipment to be displayed will fully demonstrate the strong capability of the Chinese armed forces to adapt to sci-tech development and the evolution of war forms, and to win future wars, he said.

The display will fully demonstrate the Chinese military's strong ability to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as to uphold world peace, he added.