China’s PLA to celebrate 90th birthday with stronger military

It has been a big year for China’s military as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) prepares to celebrate its 90th birthday.

In April this year, China’s first domestically produced aircraft carrier was launched, followed by the debut of its new generation of destroyer in June. In July, the country’s first aircraft carrier allowed visits by the public for the first time.

As the 90th birthday approaches, the country’s army has shown how much its military capacity has grown, reports Xinhua news agency.

The PLA has come a long way since its birth during the armed uprising in Nanchang city on August 1, 1927 when it had only 20,000 soldiers. Ninety years later, China boasts of two million servicemen, making it the world’s largest military force.

Besides the growth in numbers, the PLA has armed its soldiers with world-class equipment.

During China’s epic V-Day parade in September 2015, the country displayed its Dongfeng-5B intercontinental strategic missiles, designed to carry nuclear warheads, and its Dongfeng-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, described by some media as the “carrier killer”.

Other cutting-edge weaponry included the PLA’s state-of-the-art tanks, unmanned aerial vehicles and its new generation of airborne early warning and control aircraft, carrierbased fighters and attack helicopters that fly low across the sky.