China to showcase latest weapons at upcoming National Day parade

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- China is to showcase its latest military technology, including an intercontinental missile that can carry multiple warheads, at its 70th anniversary National Day parade.

The Sept. 3 event is to be held at the center of Beijing and is to include an ambitious display of China's military power, The Financial Times reported, including its substantial manpower.

The parade is to involve 12,000 Chinese soldiers trained in precision marching while blindfolded in sandy terrain. China's military experts said the soldiers' steps are measured for accuracy to the nearest millimeter during training.

During a rehearsal Sunday, China's air force flew J-15 fighter jets and Z-10 attack helicopters, and 189 aircraft took to the skies while filling the air with colored smoke.

Tanks and missile launchers also are expected to be part of the procession, but the featured weapon is expected to be the DF-41 intercontinental missile, which is capable of carrying multiple warheads.

The DF-41 was tested earlier this year, and according to Yue Gang, a former officer in the People's Liberation Army, the parade would be the first time the weapon would be seen in public.

On Sunday during rehearsal, China displayed the DF-21D "carrier killer" for the first time, a weapon that can travel up to 15 times the speed of sound and, according to U.S. experts, a missile that the United States has no defense against if it is aimed at destroying surface ships.

China's state news agency Xinhua reported the parade is to include foreign troops from Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Serbia, Tajikistan and Russia, and each unit is to include about 75 people.

Other countries have declined to participate in the parade, including China's neighbor North Korea, but Pyongyang has agreed to send Choi Ryong Hae, who is third in command, as an envoy, Yonhap reported.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has agreed to attend the ceremonies but not the parade, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declined to take part in any of the events.

The official name of the events around National Day is the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, according to Xinhua.