As Chinese naval ships patrol off Alaska coast, its troops parade in Beijing
Less than a month before Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to the White House for a state visit, the Pentagon said five Chinese naval vessels were plying the waters in the Bering Sea off Alaska as President Barack Obama was in Alaska鈥檚 Arctic region.
Pentagon officials said China鈥檚 Navy had every right to patrol international waters, noting the US did the same off the coast of China. But they described the move as a first, and one that showed China鈥檚 growing capability as a naval force able to project power, as well as China鈥檚 interest in Arctic natural resources,聽.听
China today marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II with an extravagant military parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The event, planned for months, featured 12,000 troops and a raft of new military equipment. It has been widely seen as a statement of growing military prowess and national pride.
The Chinese vessels in the Bering Sea were spotted on the third and final day of Mr. Obama鈥檚 trip to Alaska, a rarity for a US leader. The contingent included 鈥渢hree Chinese combat ships, a replenishment vessel and an amphibious landing ship,鈥� the Wall Street Journal quoted Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Bill Urban as saying.
We respect the freedom of all nations to operate military vessels in international waters in accordance with international law. This is the first time we have observed [People鈥檚 Liberation Army Navy] ships in the Bering Sea.
For years, China was known primarily for its 鈥渂rown water鈥� Navy that stayed within Chinese coastal areas and rivers, rather than a 鈥渂lue water鈥� oceanic navy. But that has been changing over the past decade as China has sent naval ships as far as the Mediterranean and has engaged in joint naval exercises, including with the Russian Navy in late August, as聽.
Beijing has and is working on an aircraft carrier. Last year, Chinese officials took Chuck Hagel, the defense secretary at the time, on a , the Liaoning. Many American officials interpreted the move as an effort to project naval power, particularly in light of tensions between Beijing and its neighbors over disputed islands in the East and South China Seas.
Today鈥檚 parade in Beijing, which China billed as a 鈥渧ictory鈥� celebration over Japanese forces in 1945, is only the fourth military parade since the Mao era and is the first ever not to celebrate the founding of the People's Republic. International leaders were invited, another rarity. But apart from the聽president of the Czech Republic, Western leaders stayed away. Their reluctance stems from China's framing of the event as stridently anti-Japanese and also its propaganda message that聽the defeat of Japan in 1945 was primarily achieved by Mao鈥檚 Communist forces. Historians broadly agree this is a distortion of the conflict.听
China has steadily increased military spending over the past decade, and this year spent more than $146 billion, according to the Associated Press.
Yet President Xi today announced plans to streamline the People's Liberation Army by 300,000 soldiers and to modernize the military to emphasize sea and air power. The PLA today numbers 2.3 million people, the world's largest standing army. Mr. Xi said that China was committed to creating peace and stability in Asia.听
A number of China watchers had lamented that Thursday's parade would not be a somber and universal commemoration of the advent of peace after 1945 but would be used as a loud and triumphal touting of Beijing's military might.
British China scholar Steve Tsang,聽, argues that:
China is using the parade to send a clear message to the world. It is claiming the right to maintain what it sees as the post-war order: Japan as the defeated aggressor and China as the leading - and responsible - military power in Asia.
This statement reflects China's soaring confidence and growing assertiveness under President Xi Jinping, despite evidence that economic troubles lie ahead.
