Top Southeast Asian leaders will travel to China for military parade, sources say

 Leaders from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are expected to attend next month’s Victory Day event in Beijing

Dewey Simin Beijing

Published: 3:00pm, 15 Aug 2025Updated: 3:00pm, 15 Aug 2025

Top Southeast Asian leaders are expected to attend China’s military parade next month to commemorate the end of World War II, in what would be a show of Beijing’s growing influence in the region.

Many countries are said to be sending more senior delegations than they did a decade ago, when the first such parade was held.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will likely attend the parade, set to be held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3, 2025.

Explainer | China will bring out the big guns for its military parade. What’s it all about?

Liu Zhen

Published: 6:03pm, 24 Jun 2025Updated: 6:07pm, 24 Jun 2025

China is preparing to show off its military might with a huge parade in Beijing on September 3 marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II.

As well as thousands of goose-stepping soldiers, the People’s Liberation Army will bring out the big guns with its latest missile systems, weaponry and aircraft on display for the first time since the last military parade six years ago.

Why hold a parade?

The PLA has not fought a war since the 1990s and its military parades since then have served as a demonstration of the PLA’s prowess and determination. 

They have become more frequent since Xi Jinping took power in 2012. Amid an ambitious modernisation drive – with the goal of creating a “world class” military by 2049 – there have been large-scale parades in Beijing in 2015 and 2019, and in Inner Mongolia in 2017. Two major naval parades have also been held, in the South China Sea in 2018 and in the Yellow Sea in 2019.

Fewer parades took place when Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao were in office. One was staged in 1999 when Jiang was in power and another in 2009 when Hu was president, both in Tiananmen Square. Naval parades were also held in the Yellow Sea to mark PLA Navy anniversaries in 1995 and 2009.

Xi Jinping (centre) with former presidents Hu Jintao (left) and Jiang Zemin at the 2019 parade. Photo: AP

In recent years, these parades have reflected a fundamental shift in China’s defence strategy and foreign policy – from “keeping a low profile and biding time” to “proactively striving for accomplishments” – and they come as geopolitical rivalry has intensified, especially with the United States.

China also has long-standing territorial disputes with its neighbours, including Japan over the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands, over its contested border with India, and over its expansive claims to the South China Sea that overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Tensions have escalated in recent years over these hotspots as China – now militarily and economically stronger – has taken a more assertive stance while the United States backs its rivals.

Taiwan remains a major flashpoint and there are fears a conflict could break out between China and the US over the self-ruled island. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be brought under its control – by force if necessary. And while the US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, it opposes any forcible change to the status quo and is committed to providing defensive arms to the island.

Against this backdrop, the PLA has been flexing its military muscle more regularly, including with war games such as live-fire exercises in key areas that are aimed at deterrence and pushing forward its modernisation programme, and with large-scale parades to show its power and resolve. 

Play  https://youtu.be/Ayi8ddu_eZg

Why September 3?

For 60 years, from 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded until 2009, the PLA only staged big military parades on National Day, October 1.

The first Victory Day military parade marking the end of World War II was held on September 3, 2015. It marked 70 years since Imperial Japan signed the surrender document on September 2, 1945.

A decade on, China will hold its second Victory Day parade this September.

The win over Imperial Japan was hugely significant for China since it was the “first complete victory” against a foreign invader in the country’s modern history. Beijing highlights this victory both to reinforce national identity and unity and to establish the ruling Communist Party’s role in leading China to overcome its past humiliations and become a strong nation.

Beijing is also seeking to reshape the narrative around World War II, for example by shifting the starting point of the war to the Mukden Incident in 1931 instead of the 1937 battle at the Marco Polo Bridge, adding six years to the Chinese people’s war against the Japanese.

In doing so, it is trying to emphasise China’s sacrifice and contribution to the fight against fascism in Asia and to position itself as a defender of the post-war order.

The 2015 Victory Day parade reflected this narrative, highlighting the 1931-37 resistance in Manchuria by the party’s Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

In what was seen as a “united front” against Taiwan independence, the parade was attended by war veterans from both the Communist Party and the Kuomintang. The KMT ruled China at the time of the Japanese surrender but was later defeated by the Communists in the 1945-49 civil war and fled to Taiwan, where it was the governing party.

Similar arrangements are expected to be in place this year.

https://youtu.be/b_L_QrDhgqM Play

What to expect

From fighter jets to hypersonic missiles, the PLA has a raft of new equipment that could go on public display for the first time at this year’s parade.

That includes the Shenyang J-35, the second model of the air force’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, and the J-20A, an upgraded J-20 stealth fighter powered by Chinese-made WS-10C engines.

Both aircraft are expected to fly over Tiananmen Square during the parade, alongside other upgraded warplanes such as new Y-20 variants the Y-20B transport aircraft with WS-20 engines and the YY-20 aerial refuelling tanker, and the KJ-3000 early warning and control aircraft.

New types of drones are also expected to be unveiled during the parade.

But the two types of sixth-generation fighters under development are unlikely to take part, given that parades usually show equipment already or almost in service.

While the navy’s newest additions – including the Fujian aircraft carrier, new guided-missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships and submarines – will not be part of the spectacle, its latest ship-borne aircraft could make an appearance.

They include the J-15T and J-35 fighter jets that have been modified for catapult launch, the KJ-600 early warning and control aircraft for the Fujian, and various ship-based drones.

The navy’s nuclear-capable submarine-based JL-3 ballistic missile and the YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missile could also be rolled out on launchers.

Meanwhile, the PLA Rocket Force is expected to showcase some of its new generation of strategic missiles, such as the DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile which can carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads in one single missile, and the DF-27 hypersonic missile.

The PLA Ground Force has embraced the era of drone warfare and some of its latest equipment – from robotic dogs to unmanned ground vehicles and anti-drone systems – is also likely to be part of the parade along with traditional weapons.

Liu Zhen

Liu Zhen joined the Post in 2015 as a reporter on the China desk. She previously worked with Reuters in Beijing.

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