Farce to fuss over China's military parade

Unmanned aircraft receives inspection during a military parade in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, October 1, 2009. [Xinhua]

"China will flex its military muscle again." Perhaps that's the main message many Western and Japanese media outlets will grab from the news that China may hold a grand military parade in September.

Such a fuss will only be a farce, even if the parade news is confirmed by the Chinese government. The unusual military parade, if it is held in September to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese aggression, it will only be part of the series of activities to commemorate the World Anti-Fascist War.

China has no intention to taunt Japan by showing off its military mighty, even when Japanese politicians' words and actions intensify tensions in the East Asia.

It's true that the parade will be special and rare as it will not be held on the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. In the past two decades, two military parades were held in 1999 and 2009 to celebrate the 50th and 60 anniversaries of founding of New China.

However, the parade will only be part of activities that remind the world of what happened in the Eastern battlefield in World War II. As a responsible power that played an extremely important role in the Asian battlefield to fight against Fascist Japan, China's sacrifice and contributions have long been underreported compared with its counterparts who fight against Germany and Italy in Europe.