By Shannon Tiezzi
China wants its military parade to showcase its peaceful intentions, not its capabilities.
China is framing a planned military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II as an international parade, rather than a Chinese one, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said Thursday. Speaking at the ministry’s regular monthly press conference, spokesperson Geng Yansheng told reporters that China would invite the militaries of countries that fought on both the eastern and western fronts of World War II to participate.
China has never before held a military parade to mark the end of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression; all previous military parades have been held on National Day, in celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The unusual timing of this parade sparked interpretations (including by me) that China was seeking to display its growing military prowess to potential rivals — particularly Japan and the U.S. Even an opinion piece in the state-run People’s Daily argued that the parade was a good opportunity to “intimidate Japan.”
However, China is now attempting to rebut those interpretations by broadening the scope of its parade. “This year’s military parade is special in the sense that it is not only China that will take part in the parade, and it is actually an international event,” Geng told reporters. “[W]e are inviting the leaders of other countries to observe the military parade and we are also inviting the militaries of other countries to send their own contingents or teams to take part in and observe the military parade.” Geng added that “the purpose [of the parade] is to refresh people’s memories of the past and love for peace, pay tribute to the national martyrs, and create a better future.”
China had previously announced that it would invite foreign leaders from the major combatant countries in World War II to attend the parade, but this is first indication that foreign militaries would be invited to march as well.
Read the full story at The Diplomat