By Shannon Tiezzi
Countries in Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe will be well-represented. Not so much Western Europe and the U.S.
After months of anticipation, China has released the guest list for its September 3 military parade, the highlight of a series of events commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II. Vice Minister Zhang Ming of China’s Foreign Ministry revealed the list at a press conference on August 25.
There will be 30 heads of state at the parade, Zhang said, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Korea President Park Geun-hye, Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang. China’s guests will also include the heads of state of each member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, in addition to China itself).
However, only half of the ASEAN member countries are sending top-level political representatives. Vietnam and Myanmar’s presidents will be joined by Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni, Laotian President Choummaly Sayasone, and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. Absent from the list: any mention of top-level representation from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, or Singapore.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will also be absent from the parade. Instead, North Korea will be represented by Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party.
Read the full story at The Diplomat