U.S. and allied intelligence agencies are set to closely monitor an upcoming military parade in Beijing where China’s military is expected to show off new weapons.
Chinese state media already have previewed some of the new weapon systems that were revealed during parade rehearsals for next month’s 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Along with goose-stepping troops, the People’s Liberation Army will show off new YJ-series hypersonic anti-ship missiles, and a new, more lethal version of its DF-26 intermediate-range missile. The Chinese have dubbed it the “Guam Killer” for its ability to hit the major U.S. military hub in the western Pacific.
New YJ-17, YJ-19 and YJ-20 missiles were shown in one rehearsal for the Sept. 3 parade.
Another weapon previewed by state media is a new variant of a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile.
Submarine warfare weapons will include two new extra-large unmanned underwater vehicles identified in photos as the AJX002 and a larger one hidden under a tarp. The AJX002 appears similar to Russia’s Poseidon nuclear-tipped torpedo.
New tanks, armored vehicles, artillery guns, advanced radar and a laser weapon also are expected to be unveiled.
China’s large arsenal of aerial drones is also likely to be featured in the parade.
A Chinese military spokesman told reporters all weaponry in the parade will be domestically produced and in service. The arms reflect the PLA’s ability to “adapt to technological developments and evolution of warfare forms, and to win future wars,” the spokesman said.
Both Japan and Taiwan have called for regional states to shun the parade, noting that Chinese Communist Party forces did little or no fighting during World War II.
Most of the war against Japan was carried out by the Chinese Nationalist forces.
Beijing calls the war “the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.”
