China\\\'s victory parade and its impact on world politics

Sayed Kamaluddin | Published: September 02, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The Victory Parade in Beijing on September 03 marking the allied victory in WWII in 1945 will be a high-profile event. It is for the first time that China will formally commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the WWII against fascist forces. It has invited a large number of friendly countries to attend the ceremony and most of its neighbouring countries have shown interest to participate in it.
According to Chinese media sources, the 'Victory Day' parade will be attended by 30 state leaders and 19 high-ranking government officials who will be on the reviewing stand. Besides, 11 countries' guards of honour and six countries' delegations will be in the procession.
The parade is expected to welcome heads of state from Russia, four Central Asian countries, several ASEAN countries, especially Myanmar, Vietnam, South Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt and Czech Republic. North Korea, India and Brazil will send their special envoys. In the Western world, France, the Netherlands and Australia will either send their foreign ministers and minister-level officials; the UK and New Zealand will send special envoys representing their prime minister; the ambassadors of the US, Canada and Germany will represent their government.  
It is reported that while India will not take part in the parade, officials say that Minister of State for External Affairs, General (Retd) V K Singh will join along with other dignitaries to watch the parade and participate in the reception.
Nearly 1,000 foreign troops will take part in the parade. Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Serbia, Tajikistan and Russia will send the largest contingents of about 75 troops each. Another six countries-Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, Vanuatu and Venezuela-will contribute their troops too.
Major General Qu Rui, deputy chief of operations for the Chinese military's general staff, at a press conference said that the commemoration isn't aimed at Japan or any other country. The parade will feature 10,000 Chinese troops and some of China's most advanced weaponry, including fighter jets, attack helicopters and ballistic missiles. He said: "Victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was not only a victory for the Chinese people, but also for people from around the world….The participation of foreign formations, teams and military delegations manifests the international nature of the war. We firmly believe that the commemoration activities will cement trust between the PLA and foreign troops participating in the parade."
"We respect countries' choices over whether to come or not, and we will extend our warmest welcome for all foreign troops and delegations that have decided to come," he said. China will also showcase its military sophistication by rolling out 27 armament formations. Most of the weaponry and equipment has never been shown to the public before.
Beijing doesn't seem to like the mindset that Washington is displaying and the China's ruling party's mouthpiece the Global Times has clearly expressed it in a commentary. It said: "Washington's inactive response to the parade shows its sceptical and parochial mind. In a lively event like this, China should be tolerant of the US on this matter, and remember how the US pilots, the Flying Tigers, risked their lives and fought with their Chinese brothers in the war."     
According to latest information available, leaders or troops from the U.S. or other major Western powers that fought alongside China in World War II are absent from the guest list. Another surprising element in this event is that Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, China's only military ally, is not coming to the parade. Instead, North Korea will be represented by Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the ruling Workers' Party.  Choe is thought by analysts and diplomats to be close to North Korean leader President Kim, but the absence of North Korean president may be attributed to his cooling of ties with Beijing,
As expected, top leaders of the US and its closest ally in Asia, Japan will not be there; but quite surprisingly, South Korean President Park Geun-hye has decided to attend and she will be in Beijing on September 02 on a three-day visit. It was announced by South Korea that 'her attendance is conducive to regional peace and bilateral cooperation'.
What is more interesting is that Japan's Kyodo news agency, quoting US diplomatic sources, reported on August 09 that Washington had sought to persuade President Park not to do so. It reportedly said that the Obama administration suggested that if she attends the parade, it would send wrong message to the world that China has cracked the US-South Korea alliance. However, Seoul, a key US ally in East Asia for over 60 years, denied the report.
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's ambiguous role in seeking apology for Japan's aggressive role in the WWII war earlier on August 14 evening has already generated negative feelings in China, South Korea and other countries of the region who were colonised by it. But the visit of Akie Abe, the PM's wife,  the following day (August 15) to controversial Yasukumi Shrine and comment on her Facebook page on August 18 that she visited the shrine which honours 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among 2.5 million Japanese war dead of WWII has caused widespread anger in China and South Korea.
Yasukumi Shrine symbolises the Japanese past militarism. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying stated: "Japan should make a clean break from militarism and do more that will promote reconciliation with its neighbours." Seoul also echoed such sentiment.      
It has also been reported that retired leaders attending the parade include former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.  As prime minister in 1995, Murayama delivered a landmark apology for Japan's World War II aggression, and this year he has accused current Japanese Prime Minister Abe of trying to go back on past government statements.
Steve Tsang, senior fellow at the University of Nottingham's China Policy Institute, has been quoted by Xinhua as saying: "What this shows is the countries which are keen to send a message that they want a strong relationship with China. It doesn't represent the people most actively involved in fighting the Japanese."
China and South Korea maintain close economic ties and their two-way trade during FY2014 amounted to $300 billion. They have also signed a free trade agreement (FTA) this year on June 14 which is likely to increase their bilateral trade volume substantially. Both the countries were the victims of Japan's aggression in the WWII and both have urged Japan to face up to its wartime history, admit its atrocities and issue a sincere apology.                    
China in its first-ever attempt to observe the 70th anniversary marking the victory of what it calls the anti-Fascist forces in 1945 ending the WWII apparently wants to show the world that it has come of age and has emerged as a confident nation state which is aware of its own role and ambition. However, it also emphasises time and again that it wants to be friendly with all the countries and develop together by resolving conflicts through peaceful means. It is quite an ambitious effort but it remains to be seen how convincing it looks to other countries, especially its adversaries who will surely try to find out holes in it.    
sayed.kamaluddin@gmail.com