Military parade: what is the message from China?
Two days after the SCO summit in Tianjin, China celebrated the 80th anniversary of the signing of Japan's surrender with a massive military parade on Wednesday. Eighty years after the end of the Second World War, the world is once again faced with the choice between war and peace, said China's President Xi Jinping. Russian leader Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un were among those present. Europe's press takes stock.
A show of strength aimed at Washington
China put on this display to demonstrate its military might in the Taiwan conflict, says The Times:
“The main intended recipient of images of new hypersonic missiles, stealth fighters and drones is Washington. Many of the weapons trundling through Tiananmen Square or flying in formation over it are 'anti-access' systems, intended to deny the United States navy and air force use of the waters and airspace around Taiwan, should the Trump administration or its successor consider contesting a Chinese invasion. If Taiwan and its 23 million people fall into Mr Xi's lap like ripe fruit through economic and political coercion then so much the better. But if not, says the parade, the People's Liberation Army is ready.”
Powerful custodian of the world order
La Stampa takes stock:
“The SCO summit in Tianjin and today's military parade in Beijing are aimed at conveying one message: diplomacy and power to show that it is no longer only in the West where the global order is negotiated. ... China is presenting itself as the 'custodian' of the post-war order, thus combining historical memory and current legitimisation. Beijing is offering itself to the global South as a stabilising factor and, with the summit military parade diptych, transforming the victory over Japan into a political message: sovereignty over Taiwan as a continuation of the 1945 order. Beijing has been a decisive player in the past, it is a great power in the present, and for this reason it aims to help shape the future of the world.”
Fico isolating his country from the West
Sme is troubled by the fact that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attended the parade:
“His presence in the company of Belarusian dictator Lukashenka, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the war-obsessed Putin won't help Slovakia in any way. ... Did he go there to learn how to gradually weaken democracy in Slovakia and consolidate his own power at any cost? ... The prime minister is discrediting himself in the eyes of most Slovaks. And worse still, he is increasingly isolating the entire country internationally. And more and more people, especially the young, are also packing their bags and heading off, but in the opposite direction: to the West.”
We only have Trump to thank for this
If many countries are turning away from the West and towards China it's mainly because of the US president and his policies, Berlingske stresses:
“When the US behaves more aggressively on the world economic stage than a communist dictatorship, it's hardly surprising that some countries will decide they prefer Chinese to American leadership. This is a disaster for the world, even if we'll only feel its impact gradually. ... Trump has created a world in which an axis of states that are turning their backs on the US and the West is now forming.”
Moscow becoming a vassal state
Russia is cementing its political and economic dependence on China, writes Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, in a Telegram post republished by Telegraf:
“Putin has finally buried the legacy of Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev, who could not have imagined Moscow becoming a vassal state of Beijing even in their worst nightmares. ... Sanctions have cut the Kremlin off from its main markets, and China is taking full advantage of this. It dictates prices, terms and conditions, and forces Moscow to sign contracts that turn it into a raw materials appendage. As a result, Russia is becoming completely dependent on Beijing's will.”