China Marks 60 Years with Show of Military Power
BEIJING (RIA Novosti) - The People's Republic of China celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding on Thursday with a vast display of the country's military might on Tiananmen Square.
Some 5,000 troops paraded in front of the country's leadership, showcasing 52 new types of military equipment, all domestically developed and most appearing in public for the first time.
Despite the columns of infantry and vehicles filing past, Chinese President Hu Jintao declared that China's foreign policy was intended to bring peace to the world.
"China was and remains wedded to an independent foreign policy, aimed at the retention of lasting peace and universal prosperity on the planet," he said on the square where Mao Zedong announced the communists' victory on October 1, 1949.
Hu hailed China's peaceful development and said it would "forge friendly and collaborative relations with all countries on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence."
Security in the capital was extremely tight for the event, which had around 200,000 participants. Even the journalists permitted to attend were not chosen until the last minute, with accreditation only given five hours before they were required to go to Tiananmen Square.
RIA Novosti's reporter was one of the lucky ones, and many of the journalists who slept on the floor at the press center went away empty handed.
The much-anticipated military parade was the first since China's 50th anniversary, and the new weaponry on show included pilotless aerial vehicles, radar, helicopters and several missiles, including ballistic missiles.
The much-anticipated military parade was the first since China's 50th anniversary, and the new weaponry on show included pilotless aerial vehicles, radar, helicopters and several missiles, including ballistic missiles.
Type-99 main battle tanks on parade - Beijing, 2009A total of 56 regiments on the ground and in the air will join the parade. The parade involves more than 8,000 soldiers, 2,000 less than the 1999 parade. They were marching in 14 impressive phalanxes. 30 phalanxes rolled on wheeled vehicles, compared to 25 a decade ago.
Marine Corps' Type 05 amphibious armored vehicle on parade.The formation, combination and equipment of these phalanxes showed the ongoing transformation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) from labor intensive forces to a technology-intensive one. Reflecting this trend, this year the parade included more weapon systems - over 100 land attack and naval missiles 500 armored vehicles and over 150 aircraft, surface to air and anti-ship missiles, radars and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Type 05 assault gun on parade at the 60th anniversary parade. Type 05 is also known as ZBD2000 family of tracked armored vehicles, officially unveiled in 2006. These vehicles are designed for amphibious operations and come in three configurations: an armoured fighting vehicle, a command vehicle and an a light tank (assault gun) equipped with 105mm gun, both are deployed with the Peoples' Liberation Army's Marine Corps.Fifteen formations of armored vehicles displayed a variety of systems, led by a large formation of Type-99 main battle tanks, China's newest armored vehicle. They were followed by two versions of the Type-05 amphibious assault and infantry fighting vehicles, making their debut at this parade. Type-03 airborne fighting vehicles and Type-08 wheeled armored vehicles were also on display.
Type 08 wheeled armoured vehicle.
Type 03 airborne armored vehicle (ZLC2000)(all photos : China Ministry of National Defense, Xinhua, China Defense Mashup, Fishki)
In recent years the PLA is balancing its armored vehicles fleet with a range of heavy, and medium tracked vehicles as well as 6x6 and 8x8 wheeled vehicles, offering better strategic and rapid power projection. The Type 08, also known as WZ 0001is configured as an infantry fighting vehicle, armed with 35mm automatic cannon. Other vehicles in this family include a self propelled mortar (120mm), self propelled air defense platfor, a recovery vehicle and command vehicle. The WZ 0001family was designed to address PLA requirements as well as for export.