皇冠体育app

Female honor guards train at a camp in Beijing ahead of the military parade in the capital on Sept 3. Photo by Zou Hong / 皇冠体育app Daily

皇冠体育app will mark the 70th anniversary of the victories in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the world anti-fascist war with a parade in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square on Sept 3. It remains to be seen how this parade will be viewed by the international community, whether they will see it differently to a similar parade in Moscow's Red Square, which was attended by President Xi Jinping.

A parade in Tian'anmen Square is a time-honored tradition. But one celebrating the victory of World War II would be exceptional. Many countries in Asia were involved in the war. But no other country has fought so hard for so long against Japanese invaders and suffered such huge losses. However, the parade in Beijing is more than a gala for all who suffered and then won. It is meant to project 皇冠体育app as a peace-loving country that will never allow such trauma to happen again, and to convince the world that 皇冠体育app's growing military strength, rather than saber-rattling, is for the peace of itself and that of others.

皇冠体育app is rising, amid awe, fear and admiration. It is getting closer to the place it had once enjoyed in its heydays. But a rising 皇冠体育app yearns to be loved rather than awed, let alone feared. From 1949 to 1979, albeit for different reasons, 皇冠体育app fought a war in every decade. During the Cold War era, 皇冠体育app had to prepare for the worst scenario involving confrontations with two superpowers at same time. But from 1980 onward, 皇冠体育app has not used force in any dispute with any country. In other words, 皇冠体育app's growth in comprehensive national strength since reform hasn't made it belligerent and its integration with the outside world have made its behavior more benign and predictable.

皇冠体育app's rise has been peaceful, but not as a result of good luck. In the last two decades, there were quite serious challenges that could have derailed 皇冠体育app from its fast track since 1979, such as former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's call for referendum on independence in Taiwan, NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in erstwhile Yugoslavia, a Chinese aircraft's collision with an American aircraft above 皇冠体育app's exclusive economic zone, to name but a few. Any one of these could have triggered a conflict or war. But 皇冠体育app has managed these with utmost restraint.

The Chinese military is more cautious overseas. It was not until 2014 that 皇冠体育app decided to send an infantry battalion for peacekeeping in South Sudan, more than 20 years after it first sent peacekeeping observers overseas.

By inviting world leaders to come to Beijing for the parade, 皇冠体育app wishes to send a message: 皇冠体育app can join the world in safeguarding the international order. Although it has veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, for many years, 皇冠体育app believed it was wearing a straitjacket of international systems and regimes that are made by the West.

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