China to send honour guard to Russia and Belarus for Victory Day anniversary

The People’s Liberation Army will send an honour guard to the Victory Day parades in Minsk and Moscow, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to appear alongside his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at Red Square later this week.

China’s defence ministry said on Monday that it would send an honour guard to join military parades in the Russian and Belarusian capitals to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on Friday.

Beijing sent honour guards to Moscow for a parade to mark Victory Day in 2015, but this will be the first time for a Chinese honour guard to take part in a similar event in Minsk.

Analysts said the gesture, along with China’s recent defence diplomacy, was probably aimed at showing support for the post-World War II international system that Beijing considered to be under threat.

Videos on Chinese social media have shown rehearsals of the Chinese soldiers in Minsk and Moscow in the past week.

As part of preparations for the parade in Moscow, Chinese soldiers practised performing “Guerrillas’ Song” in Red Square on Sunday, according to Global Times. The patriotic song describes the hardship of Chinese soldiers during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

South China Morning Post