We are going to wrap up our live coverage of the military parade in Beijing. Thanks for following along. Our full report on the day’s events can be found here:
Some more observations from military analysts, who were keenly watching the parade for signs of new Chinese advancements.
A key takeaway for Ying-Yu Lin, an associate professor at the institute of international affairs and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan, was a growing emphasis on counter drone systems, and airborne early warning aircraft.
“I think these changes come from lessons drawn from the Russia–Ukraine war, where we saw drones being widely used. For the PLA, this has meant integrating its electro-optical and radar systems into counter-drone applications,” Lin told the Guardian.
“The clear message they want to send is that their air force now has the ability to conduct system-of-systems operations,” he said, referring to multiple independent systems that coordinate for a joint purpose.
Raymond Kuo, senior political scientist and director at Rand Corporation, said the range of missiles on display showed progress in China’s efforts to build a “triad” of systems.
He said China had developed fields of siloes holding ICMB launchers deep inside Chinese territory, but they had weaknesses. “They’re relatively slow to prepare and launch, and everyone knows exactly where they are,” said Kuo.
To compliment them, China has planes - like the H6 bombers mentioned earlier - that can fire missiles from the sky, and sea-launch missiles that rely on stealth, like the new JL3 ICBM noted by ex PLA colonel Zhou Bo.
“You can potentially get a nuclear submarine right up to the border [of your target] and then launch with about five minutes warning,” he said.
“Each leg of the triad offsets a problem found in the others.”
Kuo also said there were clear signs of China building its nuclear arsenal, no longer satisfied with just having enough to back up its doctrine of no first strike, and minimal retaliation.
“They’re no longer comfortable with the US having more nuclear weapons, and they want to make sure silos don’t get knocked out and if they do they can strike back,” he said.
Additional reporting by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu.
