China holds massive military parade

Beijing, September 3 

In an unprecedented show of military might, China today displayed long-range "aircraft carrier-killers" and latest weaponry to mark the 70th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II but made a surprise announcement of slashing troop numbers by 3 lakh.

Amid bitter territorial disputes with neighbours, the 2.3-million strong Chinese military put up a well-coordinated show rolling out its latest armaments ranging from intercontinental ballistic missiles to medium-long range bombers in the parade at the sprawling Tiananmen Square here.

"Here, I announce that China will cut the number of its troops by 3,00,000," President Xi Jinping said in an unexpected announcement.

Flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and around 30 other world leaders like UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh, Chinese President Xi minced no words in targeting Japan for the WW-II excess in which he said over 35 million Chinese suffered casualties.

The reduction in troops is regarded as part of efforts by the PLA, which operates with the annual defence budget of $145 billion, the second highest after the US, to streamline its force as it launched unprecedented modernisation with new weapons and technology.

This will be China's fourth military reduction since the 1980s. In 1985, China downsized its army by more than 1 million, the largest cut ever.

Even after the reduction, China's military will still be the world's largest which meets China's practical needs, Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said.

Indian defence officials described the parade as impressive but said they were not surprised as these were already known.

While China relied mostly on Russia for its new advanced defence requirements due to lack of access to US and EU military technology, the new jet with foldable wings was developed as China is busy building two new aircraft carriers.

President Xi, the country's most powerful leader in decades after the first reformist leader Deng Xiaoping, said China would remain committed to "the path of peaceful development" and unexpectedly announced to cut 300,000 troops from its powerful military. Defence Ministry spokesman Yang later said the reduction would be completed by 2017.

On the Tiananmen Rostrum where late Chinese leader Mao Zedong pronounced the birth of the People's Republic 66 years ago, Xi, dressed in a sharply cut, high-collared Mao suit, highlighted China's aspiration of peace.

"China will remain committed to peaceful development. We Chinese love peace. No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation," said Xi, also General Secretary of the ruling communist party and commander -in-chief of the PLA, the world's largest standing army.

Soldiers, drilled to perfection for months, barely blinked as they goose-stepped past the Tian'anmen Rostrum in 128 carefully measured paces, each precisely 75 cm. The unprecedented display of military might comes at a time when China is in a standoff with its neighbours over South China Sea and East China Sea.

China's claim of sovereignty over almost all of South China Sea is hotly contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. — PTI