Never before has a military parade been held at a scale that President Xi's China put on display to commemorate the 70th anniversary of victory of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese aggression. Witnessed by some 40,000 spectators present at the sprawling Tiananmen Square, the parade was participated by 12,000 troops, as nearly 200 aircraft flew overhead and 500 pieces of equipment were put on display, in addition to about a 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries, including Pakistan. Among the foreign dignitaries at the V-day parade were 23 heads of state and government, including President Mamnoon Hussain, Russian President Vladimir Putin and veterans of Communist Party of China and Kuomintang (KMT). Except for European leaders Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroeder none from pro-US Western nations attended the spectacular show of China's military prowess. And exhibition of China's military muscles the parade certainly was. Following the march of 12,000 soldiers were scores of carriers equipped with ballistic missiles, tanks, and armoured vehicles, most of which never seen in public before. Advanced fighter jets and bombers flew overhead in formations for more than an hour. Among the weapons China put on display was the anti-ship Dongfeng 21D ballistic missile; which is capable of destroying even an aircraft-carrier in a single hit. This missile is certainly a challenge to the United States' aircraft carrier-based predominance in the Pacific, especially in the South China Sea. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not attend the parade, along with many Western leaders who said they were unhappy over the guest list, because it included Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir. But in reality they were 'wary of the message China would send across with the show of strength'. The Chinese, however, do not think so. According to a New China op-ed, the V-Day parade underscores resolve to pursue peaceful development and not to flex muscles at a time of heightened tension in the South China Sea and with neighbouring Japan.
President Xi's China has acquired world class military clout and prowess, the V-Day parade being the irrefutable evidence. But President Xi is not for flexing military muscle in pursuance of his foreign policy objectives. "China will always uphold the path of peaceful development," he said as he spoke from a rostrum overlooking the great display of Chinese military might at the Tiananmen Square. But no less critical is the unspoken part of the Chinese message that stems from the parade ground - that international peace is essentially a consequence of credible deterrence possessed by member states. From the 14 years of Japanese invasion China learnt the lesson that peace can only be secured when one is strong enough to defend it. Of course, the Chinese officials won't say it in so many words and reject the impression that parade was to impress Japan. But they don't forget the barbarity of the Japanese occupation and its impact on the Chinese psyche. In the words of President Xi it was "a decisive battle between justice and evil, between light and darkness ... The unyielding Chinese people fought gallantly and finally won total victory against the Japanese militarist aggressors, thus preserving China's 5,000-year-old civilization and upholding the cause of peace". The victory reaffirmed that China is a major power, he said. During the Japanese aggression 15-20 million Chinese perished, teaching a lesson to the Chinese leaders that peace can only be secured when one is strong enough to defend it - a truism that closely befits inter-state relationship in South Asia. If peace, however relative, has held between Pakistan and India it is only because of the minimum credible nuclear deterrence Pakistan has acquired as counter-balance to India's preponderance in conventional armament. Obviously, as an old all-weather friend of China, Pakistan draws satisfaction from the rise of China as a confident and secure regional hegemon committed to international and regional peace. Appreciating President Xi's vision of 'One Belt, One Road' initiative President Mamnoon Hussain rightly says that 'in this world of severe challenges China is ready to work with Pakistan and other countries to jointly advance peace'.
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