TAIPEI \u2014\u00a0China demonstrated more than just its growing military capability during a celebratory parade this week\u00a0commemorating the 70th anniversary of its victory over imperialist Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leadership review stand left no guesswork about who is in charge of China’s military, with President Xi Jinping not sharing the stand with anyone within the party leadership, except former Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Instead of party members, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It was all eyes on Xi,” said Mark Stokes, a former senior country director for the Pentagon’s China desk in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. “Definitely put an end to the idea of collective leadership. Xi was firmly in charge, and only Xi.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stokes is now executive director of the\u00a0Project 2049 Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xi\u2019s parade speech included the announcement that force levels would be reduced\u00a0of a reduction of <\/span>by\u00a0300,000 personnel from the current present force levels of <\/span>2.3 million. Xi further stated that China is\u00a0a nation interested in peace and committed to peaceful development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We Chinese love peace,” Xi said. “No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xi’s announcement of a troop reduction as at the same time<\/span> he “hosted a lavish military pageant seemed incongruous,” said Patrick Cronin, senior adviser and senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Wang Dong, deputy executive director, School of International Studies, Peking University, said there was no contradiction. Xi\u2019s speech was designed to “reassure the region and the international community that China sticks to peaceful development.” The military personnel cut is intended was also a move <\/span>to modernize the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) and “make it leaner and more effective,” Wang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The PLA is modernizing for gaining air and sea denial and control well out beyond the first island chain,” Cronin said. “An over-sized army is extra baggage for this high-tech, missile, airpower, cyber\u00a0and space force.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xi is literally transforming China. Since taking office in 2012, he initiated more than\u00a0started over <\/span>300 reforms touching every aspect of the Communist Party, government, military and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Xi has placed himself at the pinnacle of every decision-making body, whether that is the military, or cyberspace\u00a0or crisis management,” Cronin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The military parade also reflected Xi\u2019s approach to power. The chief of staff, or deputy commander, or other command-level official led each of the formations, Stokes said. , now with the Project 2049 Institute.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The parade also neglected to give the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC) or the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalists) any credit for defeating the Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It is obvious that the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] wanted to reinforce its successor state myth, that is, the ROC ceased to exist in 1949 and therefore the CCP represents the successes and interests of Chinese people on Taiwan,” Stokes said. “I didn’t hear them mention the ROC once. This was a huge slam against Taiwan.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, KuomintangKMT<\/span> war veterans did attend the parade as special guests of the CCP, and former ROC (Taiwan) Vice President Lien Chan attended. Since 2004, Lien has made numerous trips to China to meet with CCP officials. Lien unsuccessfully ran as a presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The parade also served to <\/span>demonstrated China\u2019s advances in ballistic missile capabilities, including two anti-ship ballistic missiles (DF-21D “carrier killer” and the DF-26 “Guam killer”), along with two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) <\/span>capable of targeting any US city with nuclear warheads (DF-31A and DF-5A). The DF-5A is China\u2019s first nuclear capable ballistic missile outfitted with multiple independent re-entry vehicles\u00a0(MIRV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vasiliy Kashin, a China defense specialist at the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said there is debate on whether the DF-5B is a new production series or an upgraded variant of the DF-5A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “My understanding is that basically the missile is comparable to the old Soviet R-16 [SS-7 Saddler]\u00a0ICBM and requires lengthy prestart preparation and refueling, which limits its usefulness for a second strike and that cannot be solved by simple modification of this missile,” Kashin said.\u00a0“Most likely the creation of a MIRVed version of the DF-5 is a temporary solution before MIRVed DF-41 ICBMs are deployed in sufficient numbers. Still, the deployment of a [DF-5B] MIRVed ICBM is a major development, which proves that the old minimum deterrence doctrine is being abandoned.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n