CHINA-GRAND MILITARY PARADE
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The 70-minute long grand military parade to comemmorate the 70th anniversary of Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War started in Beijing at 10.00 am on September 3, 2015. 12,000 officers and troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) marched along Chang’an Avenue by Tiananmen Square and over 500 items of weaponry and about 200 aircraft were on display. Among the weaponry on display, China for the first time showed the DF-16, DF-26, and YJ-12 intermediate range ballistic missiles. Other military hardware on display were: the 99A tank; 05A amphibious vehicle; 04A tracked infantry fighting vehicle; Red Arrow-10 anti-tank missile; 05A155 tracked self-propelled gun howitzer; Armed police anti-terrorist vehicle; HQ-9 missile; Dongfeng-15B and Dongfeng-16 missiles; Dongfeng-21D anti-ship ballistic missile; Changjian-10A cruise missile; Dongfeng-26 nuclear ballistic missile; Dongfeng-31A missile; Dongfeng-5B missile; Yilong drone; KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft; Y8 aircraft; JH-7A aircraft; H-6K bomber; and the J-15 carrier-based fighter jets. Five J-15 carrier-based jets flew over the parade. Xi Jinping reviewed the parade dressed in a traditional grey Mao suit while all other leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang and former President Jiang Zemin, were dressed in western suits.
In his 1093-word inaugural speech, Xi Jinping also announced that the PLA's troop strength would be reduced by 300,000, indicating that he is giving a definite push to the planned military reforms. This represents an approximately 13 percent cut in the active duty strengths of the 2.3 million strong Chinese military. Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War
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