In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Military
Why Sahel States Are Turning to Chinese Military Gear
In early September, Guinea’s port of Conakry turned into a military stage as convoys of CS/VP-14 mine-resistant vehicles, VN-22 6×6 infantry carriers, command and recovery vehicles, and even an SR-5 rocket artillery system rolled off Chinese cargo ships and headed toward Mali’s capital. ...
China Condemns U.S.–UK Taiwan Strait Transit, Tracks Warships
China’s military on Friday condemned the sailing of U.S. and British warships through the Taiwan Strait, saying it ordered naval and air forces to monitor and warn the two ships. The U.S. destroyer Higgins and the UK frigate HMS ...
China’s Gradual but Growing Security Influence in Africa
China is steadily expanding its security presence in Africa through deeper military ties, weapons sales, and multinational deployments as UN Peacekeepers. In fact, China is now the largest arms supplier to Sub-Saharan Africa, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace ...
China Denies Using Beijing’s Parade to Pitch J-10C to Indonesia
China denied using last week’s Beijing military parade to pitch Indonesia further to buy the J-10C fighter jet. A high-level Chinese diplomat for ASEAN, in her statement, called the event a commemoration and not a sales pitch. “It is not a ...
Indonesia’s Prabowo, in China’s Spotlight, Ignores Nation’s Tumult for Global Showmanship
On Wednesday morning in Beijing, as the People’s Liberation Army marched in lockstep through Tiananmen Square, one foreign leader stood conspicuously close to the Chinese and Russian presidents. Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, clad in a tailored gray suit, sat shoulder to shoulder with Vladimir Putin and Xi ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China’s Military Parade Cements Superpower Optics
China displayed a vast array of advanced weapons during a large military parade to mark the 80th commemoration of World War II. The parade snaked down Chang'an Avenue in central Beijing. President Xi Jinping delivered a speech on Tiananmen Square and inspected the soldiers from a parade ...
China “Unstoppable,” Says Xi With Kim, Putin at His Side
By James Edgar North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin flanked Chinese President Xi Jinping at a massive parade in Beijing on Wednesday, capping a week of diplomatic grandstanding by the Chinese president and his allies against ...
Kim, Putin at Xi’s Side for Massive China Military Parade
By James Edgar North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin arrived Wednesday morning ahead of a massive parade in Beijing to cap a week of diplomatic grandstanding by President Xi Jinping and his allies against the West.
Chinese Military Blogger Reviews Vietnam’s Parade on the Eve of Beijing’s Own
On the day before China’s September 3rd military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, Vietnam staged its own large-scale celebration in Hanoi for the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day. On a Chinese WeChat public account focused on military ...
On Chinese Social Media, Rwanda’s Army Looks Strikingly Like the PLA
On Chinese social media, a Bilibili video has left netizens marveling at how much Rwanda’s army has come to resemble the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The edit splices together clips of Rwandan infantry drills, martial art practices, parades, and even the hand gestures of their instructors. ...
Pacifist Japan Struggles to Boost Troops as China Anxiety Grows
By Hiroshi Hiyama Sporting dark face paint and clutching a gun, teenage soldier-in-training Takuma Hiyane crawls across a field on Japan's Okinawa, the front line of the nation's defence as anxiety grows over China's territorial ambitions.
Beijing Accuses Manila of Trouble, Warns of Firm Countermeasures
China has accused the Philippines of “causing trouble” in the South China Sea and warned of firm countermeasures. Beijing's accusation sharpens its claim that the United States and allied partners are driving instability as Manila deepens defense cooperation with Australia ...