12,000 to march in V-Day parade in Beijing

The file photo taken in 1999 shows the guard of honor of the three services of the PLA attending a parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

A total of 50 formations will parade through the Tian'anmen Square on Sept 3 to mark the 70th victory anniversary of China's resistance against Japan and the world anti-Fascist war, Qu Rui, deputy director of the Office of the Parade Leading Team and Deputy Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters, told a press conference on Friday.

Among the 50 formations, there are 11 foot formations, 2 mounted formations of Chinese veterans in the War of Resistance aganist Japanese Aggression from both the forces led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and those by the Kuomintang (KMT) Party, 27 armament formations, 10 air echelons, Qu said.

In total, 12,000 troops, 500 pieces of more than 40 types of equipment, and nearly 200 aircraft of over 20 types will be demonstrated and the parade will last about 70 minutes, Qu said.

About 84 percent of the armament has never met the public before and the Army, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force and Armed Police will all debut their new armament, according to Qu.

The ground armament formations will be divided into six modules, including the ground combat, air defense and missile defense, maritime attack, strategic strike, communication support and logistics and armament support, added Qu.

The Army, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force and Armed Police will all debut their new armament, said Qu. About 84 percent of the armament, to be showcased in the Sept 3 military parade, has never been presented to the public before. All of the armament is Chinese-made.

More than 10 foreign armies will march in the China's WWII memorial parade, including the army from Russia and Kazakhstan. Some of the foreign armies have arrived in Beijing and are accepting training for the parade, according to Qu. Liaison officers and translators have been arranged for foreign armies and delegations and fixed-line telephones and free Wi-fi have also been provided.

"Beidou highly accurate orientation and measurement technology," part of China's indigenous positioning system, has been used in training for the upcoming high-profile parade in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Major General Wang Shun said on the press conference that to make the training more scientific and reasonable, parade units have been equipped with Beidou automatic time service system.

Wang, who is deputy chief of staff of Beijing Military Area Command and deputy commander of the parade, said the application of electronic parade sand model and simulation and emulation system has greatly improved the efficiency of the training.

Soldiers on foot formations can stand still for two hours, armament formations have a margin of error of plus or minus 0.3 seconds for speed and 10 centimeters for distance, while air echelons maintain perfect speed and distance, Wang added.

Armed forces have gathered into Beijing for the parade since June 10. They have been mainly training at Beijing Nankou training base and the air echelons were trained at airports around Beijing. Great efforts have been made to provide the best supporting conditions for officers and soldiers, Wang said.

Existing barracks are used as the accommodation, and 24-hour medical and health servicesare available, Wang said.