China’s military parade: Some cause for concern, but mostly show
China’s President Xi Jinping presided over a massive military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. President Xi used the occasion to display the country’s latest military hardware and growing defense ambitions.
The 90-minute event featured a range of weaponry, including missiles, fighter jets, drones and other advanced systems — much of it revealed publicly for the first time. Analysts described the parade as both a message of deterrence to rivals and a show of pride for China’s citizens.
China’s new weapons
Among the standout displays was the DF-61 intercontinental ballistic missile. Su Tzu-yun, director of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security, described it as “a completely new design” with the potential to reach the U.S. mainland.
Also on display were the Hongqi-29 missile, capable of missile defense and anti-satellite operations, and the twin-seat J-20 stealth fighter, which experts said could one day pair with AI-assisted drones in future conflicts.
The parade, attended by leaders from about two dozen countries, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, was meant to reassure Chinese citizens of their nation’s strength. But it also fueled some unease among neighbors and the United States, who view Beijing’s expanding arsenal with suspicion.
An intelligent insight
To dig deeper into what the parade means for U.S. security, Straight Arrow News’ Ryan Robertson spoke with Jon Molik, a U.S. military intelligence warrant officer. Below is their conversation, which was edited for clarity.
Ryan Robertson: First question I have for you, Jon: initial impressions from the Chinese military parade?
Jon Molik: Well, I would say this year is just as good as any other year in terms of them putting on a show. I think they did a great job with that. If you spend the amount of time and resources that the CCP does to showcase to the world — really, the world is really secondary. It’s their own people first, and then their neighbors second, and then kind of the world as a third. But if they’re going to put all that time and resources in that, then listen, they put on a great show, and it looks good and everyone can march in step and they look very professional and kudos to them if that’s the goal. Certainly, the comparison would be — the popular comparison would be, “Well, the United States Army just put on a parade a few months ago down in DC, and holy cow! There’s this one picture of one soldier with a drone.” And, you know, if you compare that to the Chinese display, then “Holy cow! The Chinese would win a war!” You know, I hate to sound like I’m mocking, because really, really, I’m not. It was a very professional display.
Weapons enforce strategic goals
Robertson: Right. Yeah. And to your point, you know, the Chinese — the modern Chinese military hasn’t really been in a conflict to be battle tested and prove these systems in combat. To your point, Jon, you said this was a display; it seemed like there were three kinds of categories of items that got more attention than others. Just kind of want to go through these things and, and pepper you on some questions on it.
The first category was kind of the Chinese nuclear triad. We saw some new ICBMs that were claimed to be capable of hitting the continental United States. There are some new submarines that were displayed and some new jets along with nuclear-capable missiles. So obviously, you know, the Chinese military is trying to present their nuclear triad as powerful. They don’t have as many warheads as the U.S. and as Russia does. They’re building that capacity up. What were your thoughts on the Chinese nuclear triad?
Molik: Yeah, so the other half of the coin, the other side of the coin from what we were talking about earlier in terms of a display, we have to give our respect, if you will. We have to note that the Chinese really are putting time, effort, and energy on top of their display to the equipment that is important, let’s say. You know, they are trying to mirror the United States and some of the other countries like Russia and the more powerful militaries in the world — Britain, Australia, and others — and investing in the equipment that really is going to matter. And matter for their strategic purposes. So, if you want to be a regional power that wants to be left alone, which is ultimately the CCP’s goal — left alone in the Eastern Hemisphere, the First and Second Island Chain — then you want to be able to have a nuclear triad. And if you can have that capability, then great that you can match the United States and Russia. And when I say match, I mean, at least from a strategic purpose. I don’t mean necessarily their ultimate capability or as you mentioned, the number of warheads. So yes, it is a very different perspective when a country has the ability to conduct a potential nuclear attack against the United States homeland from air, sea or land-based. Then yeah, that’s a problem that the United States would rather not deal with it as opposed to dealing with it.
So, they’re upgrading those weapons systems. They’re trying to increase the ultimate range of their ICBMs. It’s good on them to do that. And again, from their perspective. So, yes. It’s something that we should pay attention to. They’re underwater vehicles that you had mentioned. There’s this one 35-foot, I believe, underground or underwater rather, uncrewed drone, they call it. That’s an advancement. In particular, if you notice in that piece of equipment, there wasn’t any fins at all. There aren’t any fins at all. So they’re trying to reduce their acoustic signature. That’s really how you are able to identify submarines and other vessels like that underwater is based on the acoustic signature. There’s other technologies too, but nonetheless, they’re making advancements in that.
Worth the worry?
Robertson: Sure. Yeah. Some of the other categories that I saw were the — you mentioned the unmanned systems. They had, you know, helicopters, fixed-wing assets, obviously the unmanned underwater assets. And then also there was a heavy display of missiles, right? To back up the Chinese strategy of “Anti-Access/Area Denial,” which is the Chinese strategy to keep the U.S. at bay. To that end, Jon, was there anything that you saw that kind of kept you up? Is there anything that you saw that — you know, maybe isn’t getting the attention, or wasn’t getting the attention, it deserves but you saw it and were like, “Man, the U.S. really needs to pay attention to this”?
Molik: Yeah, I would say no, and only because the United States has put a lot of focus on determining what exactly China is building. We’ve been doing it for a few decades now. This isn’t anything that’s new to us or any of our allies. And there wasn’t any particular piece of equipment we didn’t know about or some technology that they released that we thought was like, “Oh man, we didn’t know that they had that! Now they proved that they’ve had that.” That’s just not the case. The IC [Intelligence Community] is pretty good at what they do.
Parades aren’t power
Robertson: Well, that’s good to hear as an American citizen. The last question I had for you, Jon, and we kind of talked about this at the beginning. Obviously, the message of the parade itself is one of deterrence. You know, China is saying, “Hey, America, back off.” But they also welcomed in the leaders of let’s call it, “Team Hate America.” You have leaders of Russia, North Korea, Iran, about two dozen other countries there. What kind of message does that send to the United States, Chinese neighbors, and the rest of the world to have so many adversarial administrations to the United States all gathered in one place?
Molik: It’s messaging and it’s effective messaging. There’s multiple layers to this stuff, right? There’s a political message. There’s a strategic message. There’s a tactical military message. It’s all combined into this big thing. It’s all a showcase. And I would say that really the relationship between those, you could say, ‘potential adversaries’ of the United States coming together and shaking hands and being all lovey — that is important. It really is. You know, the fact that North Korean soldiers are fighting in Ukraine, and North Korea is gathering a bunch of information on what drone and counter-drone warfare is like today — right now, in the trenches — and then sharing that information with the Chinese, sharing that information with the Russians and then demonstrating that over dinner and shaking hands … Yeah. It sends a message to the United States that you’re not the only world superpower. And if we have enough friends, then, you know, we could be formidable in our own right. But again, everything needs to — be kept into perspective. If you gather those — the GDPs of those countries that are together — if you take out China, it’s quite literally nothing. The Russian economy is the size of Texas. So, yeah, there’s perspective everywhere.
Robertson: Used to be. Used to be the size of Texas. I don’t know if it still is.
Molik: Yeah. Sure, sure, sure. Good point. Good point. Nonetheless, I mean, again, from a strategic messaging standpoint, if you want to get under the skin of any POTUS, regardless of if it’s this one or not, and to showcase solidarity, then yeah, you do that. And it’s something we pay attention to. And we add it to the calculus when we’re doing our discussions with the State Department. What does this ultimately mean? Is the relationship really real? What’s the depth to that relationship? It’s one thing to invite Kim Jong-un and his train to come down and hang out and have dinner. But what does it mean behind the scenes? What are they really talking about at dinner? Is Russia just saying this and bringing him in to say, “This going to be a great show, but I’m never really going to do anything with Kim Jong-un at the end of the day.” We’ll see, but sure, it certainly sends a message.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
