China puts its power on parade

CHINA has not fought a war for more than four decades — but yesterday’s vast military parade through Tiananmen Square showed how relentlessly it has been preparing for one.

- By Marco Giannangeli

Despite Xi Jinping proclaiming “the peaceful development of humanity will definitely win out”, the display told a different story.

There were batteries of nuclear missiles, hypersonic “carrier killers” and stealth drones built for a fight over Taiwan.

Beside Xi were Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. It was the first time they have appeared publicly together, showing closer ties.

Former UK diplomat and China expert Matthew Henderson said the message was unmistakable.

He said: “There’s no diplomacy anymore. It’s basically, don’t screw with me or I’ll blow you up.” Many of the systems unveiled were designed to strike US and Western naval power.

The YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile, dubbed an “aircraft carrier killer”, combines ballistic missile speed with cruise-like manoeuvrability to overwhelm defences. Two other new weapons — the YJ-19 scramjet-powered missile and the YJ-15 ramjet anti-ship weapon — underscored Beijing’s push into high-speed strike technology.