Latest news with #World War Two
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Politics
- Reuters
China to show off massive troops, high-tech weapons at WW2 parade
BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - China will stage a massive military parade next month in the heart of Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War Two following the surrender of Japan, mobilising tens of thousands of people and showcasing never-seen-before weapons. Hundreds of aircraft including fighter jets and bombers as well as high-tech armaments such as precision-strike weapons capable of travelling at five times the speed of sound, will be featured at the parade, military officials said at a press conference on Wednesday. The parade, the second such procession since 2015 to observe the formal surrender of Japanese forces in September 1945, will be a show of China's military strength as some of its neighbours and Western nations look on with concern over the projection of power by the People's Liberation Army in recent years. From trucks fitted with devices to take out drones, new tanks and early warning aircraft to protect China's aircraft carriers, military attaches and security analysts say they are anticipating a host of new weapons and equipment at the parade. Additions to its expanding suite of missiles, particularly anti-ship versions and weapons with hypersonic capabilities, will be particularly closely watched as the U.S. and its allies prepare to counter China in any future regional conflict. "(The weapons and equipment) will fully demonstrate our military's robust ability to adapt to technological advancements, evolving warfare patterns, and win future wars," Wu Zeke, deputy director of the military parade, told reporters. New armaments due to debut at the parade will account for a significant share of those on display, according to the military officials. The exact number of troops, weapons and equipment to be shown was not disclosed. The roughly 70-minute-long "Victory Day" parade on September 3, comprising 45 formations of troops, will be surveyed by President Xi Jinping at Tiananmen Square alongside a number of foreign leaders and dignitaries including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also attended the 2015 parade. At the last World War Two parade, more than 12,000 soldiers, including diverse contingents from Russia and Belarus to Mongolia and Cambodia, marched through the city alongside veterans. Beijing had also mobilised over 500 pieces of military equipment and 200 aircraft. Many Western leaders had shunned the 2015 event, wary of the message that China would send with its exhibition of military might. Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declined to attend. Foreign attendees at the time included former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. No information on participating foreign troops or attendance of foreign leaders was disclosed at the press conference. Authorities have stepped up security in downtown Beijing since the first rehearsals this month, setting up checkpoints, diverting road traffic and shutting shopping malls and office buildings. Beijing has so far conducted two large-scale rehearsals on the weekends of August 9-10 and 16-17, attended by 22,000 and 40,000 people involving troops, police and spectators. Preparations for the parade are basically completed, officials said on Wednesday.
CNA
35 minutes ago
- Politics
- CNA
China to stage massive military parade marking WW2 surrender of Japan
BEIJING: China will stage a massive military parade next month involving tens of thousands of people in the heart of Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War Two, following the surrender of Japan. Hundreds of aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers as well as ground equipment, some of which have never been seen in public before, will be featured in the parade, military officials said at a press conference. The Sep 3 parade, the second such procession since 2015 to observe the formal surrender of Japanese forces in 1945, will be a show of China's military strength as some of its neighbours and Western nations look on with concern over the projection of power by the People's Liberation Army in recent years. From trucks fitted with devices to take out drones, new tanks and early warning aircraft to protect China's aircraft carriers, military attaches and security analysts say they are expecting China to display a host of new weapons and equipment at the parade. Additions to its expanding suite of missiles, particularly anti-ship versions and weapons with hypersonic capabilities, will be particularly closely watched as the United States and its allies prepare to counter China in any future regional conflict. "(The weapons and equipment) will fully demonstrate our military's robust ability to adapt to technological advancements, evolving warfare patterns, and win future wars," Wu Zeke, deputy director of the military parade, told reporters. The 70-minute-long "Victory Day" parade, comprising 45 contingents of troops, will be surveyed by President Xi Jinping at Tiananmen Square alongside a number of foreign leaders and dignitaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also attended the 2015 parade. At the last World War Two parade, more than 12,000 soldiers, including diverse contingents from Russia and Belarus to Mongolia and Cambodia, marched through the city alongside veterans. Beijing had also mobilised over 500 pieces of military equipment and 200 aircraft. Many Western leaders had shunned the 2015 event, wary of the message that China would send with its exhibition of military might. Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declined to attend. Foreign attendees at the time included former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Authorities have stepped up security in downtown Beijing since the first rehearsals this month, setting up checkpoints, diverting road traffic and shutting shopping malls and office buildings.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
China to stage massive military parade marking WW2 surrender of Japan
BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - China will stage a massive military parade next month involving tens of thousands of people in the heart of Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War Two following the surrender of Japan. Hundreds of aircraft including fighter jets and bombers as well as ground equipment, some of which have never been seen in public before, will be featured in the parade, military officials said at a press conference. The September 3 parade, the second such procession since 2015 to observe the formal surrender of Japanese forces in 1945, will be a show of China's military strength as some of its neighbours and Western nations look on with concern over the projection of power by the People's Liberation Army in recent years. From trucks fitted with devices to take out drones, new tanks and early warning aircraft to protect China's aircraft carriers, military attaches and security analysts say they are expecting China to display a host of new weapons and equipment at the parade. Additions to its expanding suite of missiles, particularly anti-ship versions and weapons with hypersonic capabilities, will be particularly closely watched as the U.S. and its allies prepare to counter China in any future regional conflict. The 70-minute-long "Victory Day" parade, comprising 45 contingents of troops will be surveyed by President Xi Jinping at Tiananmen Square alongside a number of foreign leaders and dignitaries including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also attended the 2015 parade. Authorities have stepped up security in downtown Beijing since early August when the first large-scale parade rehearsal was held, setting up checkpoints, diverting road traffic and shutting shopping malls and office buildings.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
China to stage massive military parade involving tens of thousands of people
BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - China will stage a massive military parade involving tens of thousands of people in the heart of Beijing next month to commemorate the 80 years since the end of World War Two following the surrender of Japan. Hundreds of aircraft including fighter jets and bombers as well as ground equipment, some of which have never been seen in public before, will be featured in the parade, military officials said at a press conference.
BBC News
09-08-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nagasaki mayor warns of nuclear war 80 years after Nagasaki
The mayor of Nagasaki has appealed for an end to the wars raging in the world on the 80th anniversary of the US atom bomb attack which destroyed the Japanese city. "Conflicts around the world are intensifying in a vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation," Shiro Suzuki said in a Peace Declaration at a solemn ceremony to mark the event."If we continue on this trajectory, we will end up thrusting ourselves into a nuclear war."The attack on 9 August 1945, which analysts say hastened the end of World War Two, killed an estimated 74,000 the years that followed many survivors suffered from leukaemia or other severe side effects of radiation. Saturday's ceremony came a few days after the commemoration of the first atomic bombing, which targeted the Japanese city of Hiroshima 80 years ago on 6 August, killing an estimated 140,000 Nagasaki bomb, bigger and more powerful, wiped out whole communities in commemoration in the rebuilt city began with a moment of silence. Nagasaki's twin cathedral bells also rang in unison for the first time since the attack, in a message of peace to the part of Saturday's ceremony, water offerings were made in a moving and symbolic gesture - 80 years ago victims whose skin was burning after the blast had begged for participants of different generations including a representative of the survivors offered water in a show of respect to those who perished in nuclear fire. "On 9 August 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped on this city," Suzuki said in the declaration."Now, 80 years since that day, who could have possibly imagined that our world would become like this? Immediately cease from disputes in which 'force is met with force'."BBC visits the Korean survivors of the Hiroshima bombIn pictures: Nagasaki and Hiroshima rememberedBomb survivor Hiroshi Nishioka, 93, who was just 3km (1.8 miles) from the spot where it exploded, told the ceremony of the horror he had witnessed."Even the lucky ones [who were not severely injured] gradually began to bleed from their gums and lose their hair, and one after another they died," he said, as quoted by AFP news agency."Even though the war was over, the atomic bomb brought invisible terror." Nagasaki resident Atsuko Higuchi, 50, told AFP it "made her happy" that the city's victims were being remembered."Instead of thinking that these events belong to the past, we must remember that these are real events that took place," she the bloodiest conflicts currently raging in the world are the war between Russia and Ukraine, and that between Israel and the Gaza-based group Hamas. There was controversy last year when Nagasaki declined to invite Israel to the annual commemoration, citing security year the mayor said Israel had been invited, as well as Russia and its ally Belarus which had been shunned since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. An international agreement banning nuclear weapons, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, came into effect in 2021. More than 70 countries have ratified the treaty but nuclear powers have opposed it, arguing their nuclear arsenals act as a deterrent. Japan has also rejected the ban, saying its security is enhanced by US nuclear weapons.
