Chinese military flexes its muscles
IMPRESSIVE ARRAY OF HARDWARE RUMBLES BY President reviews the troops from the back of a jeep.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told the military yesterday to transform itself into an elite force, as he oversaw a parade with flybys of advanced jets and a rally of troops to mark 90 years since the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
China’s armed forces, the world’s largest, are in the midst of an ambitious modernisation program, which includes investment in technology and new equipment such as stealth fighters and aircraft carriers, as well as cuts to troop numbers.
Xi presided over the large-scale military parade at the remote Zhurihe training base in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, where he inspected troops from the back of a jeep.
Xi, who oversees the PLA in his role as head of the powerful Central Military Commission, repeatedly shouted, “Hello comrades!” and “Comrades, you are working hard!” into four microphones fixed atop his motorcade as martial music blared.
The troops bellowed back: “Serve the people!”, “Follow the Party!”, “Fight to win!” and “Forge exemplary conduct!”.
Tanks, vehicle-mounted nuclear-capable missiles and other equipment rolled by, as military aircraft flew above, including H-6K bombers, which have been patrolling near Taiwan and Japan recently, the J-15 carrier-based fighters and new-generation J-20 stealth fighter.
“Today we are closer to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than any other time in history, and we need to build a strong people’s military more than any other time in history,” Xi told the assembled troops in a short speech that did not yield any new policy announcements.
Xi said that the world was not peaceful, but he did not mention any specific hot spots, such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Taiwan, or tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
It was also the first time Xi has reviewed troops in the field like this, Xinhua added.
China has not fought a war in decades and the government insists it has no hostile intent, but simply needs the ability to properly defend what is now the world's second-largest economy.
However, China has rattled nerves around Asia and globally with its increasingly assertive stance in the East and South China Seas and its military modernisation plan.
Some of the military reforms have also been controversial at home. Sources with ties to the military say Xi’s announcement at the 2015 parade to cut 300 000 troops has caused unease within the ranks.