China’s massive military parade through central Beijing on Wednesday showed off scores of new, cutting-edge weapons, with many specifically designed to keep U.S., Japanese and other allied forces at bay in the event of conflict.
The parade, held to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II, provided a glimpse into the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) burgeoning arsenal. The display included its latest anti-ship missiles, such as the YJ (Ying Ji, "Eagle Shot") series of hypersonic weapons that can hit speeds of Mach 5 and above, striking at long-ranges at very high speeds.
In particular, the new and difficult-to-intercept systems displayed — the YJ-15, YJ-17, YJ-19 and YJ-20 — are likely to vex American warplanners, having been built with one goal in mind: to erode U.S. and allied naval superiority in the Pacific.
The parade also involved thousands of PLA troops, over 100 aircraft and several other next-generation military systems, some of which were showcased for the first time, highlighting the Chinese military’s improving combat capabilities, including in new domains and technology areas.
Among the new systems were advanced fighter jets, a wide range of drone and counter-drone equipment, directed-energy weapons, and advanced hypersonic and nuclear missiles — including a new road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called the DF-61.
All of the hardware displayed has been domestically developed and built, and is already in active service, senior Chinese military officials have said, adding that the parade was intended to demonstrate the PLA's modernization and its ability to win wars.
This is particularly true for the YJ missile series.
James Char, a research fellow with the China program at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said these missiles, which can be launched from Chinese warships, submarines or even carrier-based aircraft, are likely to come in handy in a maritime contingency against any of China’s adversaries in its near seas and beyond.
“Such a comprehensive array of anti-ship missiles is in line with the PLA’s A2AD strategy, and will likely complicate the efforts by other militaries to intercept them in the event of a conflict,” Char said.
In military parlance, A2AD — or “anti-access/area denial” — is a strategy in which certain capabilities are used to prevent opposing forces from entering a specific theater of operation.
In the case of China, it is believed that Beijing would use such a strategy to keep U.S. and allied forces from intervening in a conflict over self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a breakaway province that must be returned to the fold, by force if necessary.
Other weapons likely to cause headaches for U.S. and allied warplanners are the YJ-21 and DF-17 hypersonic missiles, and the DF-26D intermediate-range ballistic missile, all of which are said to “excel at breaking through contested air space and hitting targets with high precision,” according to Chinese state TV.
Military experts have dubbed them “carrier killers.”
“The number of hypersonic weapons on display indicated that — assuming they are operationally deployed — China is well ahead of the United States in this important military capability,” said Malcolm Davis, a security expert with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
“This mix of long-range anti-ship and land attack missiles — hypersonic, cruise and ballistic — adds to the potential effectiveness of the Chinese A2AD strategy,” he added.
These weapons — designed for anti-ship and land-attack roles and able to be launched from the air, sea, or land — make it challenging for the U.S. and its allies to operate within the near seas west of the “first island chain” that groups Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, as well as out to the “second island chain" that includes Guam, home to a major U.S. military base, Davis noted. Compounding the issue is China’s large military industrial capacity and its ability to produce these weapons in large numbers.
Modern air power was also on display, including the new fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighter and several variants of the J-20 jet, although there were no signs of either China’s J-36 sixth-generation fighter or its H-20 stealth bomber.
Uncrewed systems, meanwhile, were also a key element of the parade, with a range of new aerial and naval drones on display, including two types of uncrewed submarines and what appeared to be an uncrewed, high-speed patrol boat.
The event also featured a whole set of reconnaissance, strike and collaborative combat drones, the latter of which are meant to fly in tandem with the J-20. In addition, several underwater weapons such as smart mines as well as light and heavy torpedoes, including rocket-propelled ones, were shown.
“Many of these capabilities have direct implications for a Taiwan contingency,” said Brian Hart, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' China Power Project.
“One of the large uncrewed underwater vehicles appears to be designed for covert minelaying operations, which official commentators directly mentioned had applicability for blockading," he added.
As with hypersonics, uncrewed systems produced in significant numbers would make it “much more difficult” for Washington and its allies to project power into the western Pacific, Davis said.
The parade also showcased several air defense systems, including the new HQ-29, which is rumored to be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at very high altitudes and possibly also striking satellites in low Earth orbit. To counter the growing threat of enemy drones the PLA showed off several microwave and directed-energy weapons as well as electronic warfare and artillery systems.
China also paraded an early warning formation featuring truck-mounted radar systems, some of which are reportedly also capable of detecting stealthy aircraft and other aerial threats.
To boost joint operations, the PLA also displayed an “information warfare group” consisting of mobile cyberwarfare, electronic countermeasures and information support units — a formation that highlights the PLA’s move to "intelligentized" warfare across a multidomain context, according to Davis.
To underscore its push for strategic deterrence, Beijing presented for the first time a triad of its nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, including the new long-range, air-launched JL-1, the submarine-launched JL-3 ICBM and the ground-launched DF-61 and DF-31BJ ICBMs.
The move shows that China is “moving rapidly to build up its nuclear weapon capabilities and achieve parity with the United States by the early 2030s” in terms of numbers of warheads and also advanced delivery systems, Davis said.
This will place “real pressure” on the U.S. to respond as it will be faced by three large nuclear armed adversaries, meaning that the prospect of nuclear coordination between Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang could see the U.S. lose its balance of power in a crisis, he warned.
But, given that China’s last participation in a war was in 1979 against Vietnam, some have cautioned that most of its new military systems have yet to be battle-tested, or prove their efficiency in high-end exercises.
Nevertheless, Davis warned, “it is clear that Beijing is determinedly building military capabilities to equal and eclipse the United States and to dominate the region, including beyond Taiwan.”
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