- Diplomacy played out alongside the march past. Putin and Kim held talks on the sidelines, building on a 2024 security pact between Moscow and Pyongyang that has unsettled Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo.
- The parade’s narratives were sovereignty, multipolarity, and resistance to “hegemonism”, which resonate in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
- As the drums and jet engines faded over Tiananmen, the signal to global capitals was unmistakable: Beijing intends to be at the centre of the story it is writing as a World Power.
China staged its largest military parade in a decade to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender. President Xi Jinping, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean President Kim Jong Un, presided over a meticulously choreographed spectacular parade with more than 5000 spectators, hypersonic missiles, unmanned drones and aircraft. Roughly two dozen leaders from mostly non-Western States signal the block of mutual convenience among countries at odds with the US and its allies, underscoring Beijing’s pivot towards an alternative global coalition.
The optics were as important as the arms display. China showcased systems designed to deter adversaries and counter any potential intervention in its territory. The showcase of hypersonic, long-range, and unmanned capabilities as part of a modernisation drive meant to project strength across multiple domains. The parade arrives amid internal churn, including purges of senior officers dismissed by Xi, but Beijing’s message about capacity, cohesion, and staying power was clear.
Diplomacy played out alongside the march past. Putin and Kim held talks on the sidelines, building on a 2024 security pact between Moscow and Pyongyang that has unsettled Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo. Kim’s trip to Beijing doubled as a signal of trilateral comfort among China, Russia, and North Korea. U.S. political reaction was swift and critical, reflecting how imagery from Beijing feeds directly into domestic debates about American power and alliances.
Historically, China has used parades to signal inflexion points. The last Victory Day mega-parade in 2015 showcased anti-access systems and framed China as a guardian of post-war order, even as neighbouring countries sweated about its maritime and territorial expansionist actions. A decade later, the backdrop has hardened with grinding war in Ukraine, intensified Sino-U.S. rivalry, and North Korea’s help in Russia’s wartime supply chain conveys a significant message to the West.
Regionally, the implications are immediate. The parade was engineered for domestic legitimacy and international realignment. For Taiwan, the parade’s messaging and hardware underscore a PLA focused on speed, denial, and layered strike options. The Xi-Putin-Kim tableau will stiffen resolve to deepen trilateral coordination on missile defence, maritime security, and technology controls.
In Southeast Asia, leaders will parse not only what China showed but who attended, weighing room for hedging as economic interdependence collides with security. Globally, the event illustrates a world sorting into issue-based constellations. China courts the “Global South” with development and energy ties, Russia seeks sanction-resistant markets and diplomatic cover, North Korea angles for technology and legitimacy as a Nuclear power. The parade’s narratives were sovereignty, multipolarity, and resistance to “hegemonism”, which resonate in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, even as they alarm NATO and key Indo-Pacific partners. Expect more symbolic summits, and resource deals to follow and more countermoves from the U.S. and its allies to harden supply chains, bolster deterrence, and compete in the grey zones short of war.
One tableau captured the moment: Xi seated between Putin and Kim, anchoring a stagecrafted image of alignment, not a formal alliance, but a convergence of interests about constraints on American power and latitude for their own. Whether that image translates into lasting strategic depth will depend on the costs each leader is willing to bear at home. But as the drums and jet engines faded over Tiananmen, the signal to global capitals was unmistakable: Beijing intends to be at the centre of the story it is writing as a World Power.
References:
- Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-projects-power-military-parade-with-putin-kim-2025-09-03/
- Reuters live blog: https://www.reuters.com/world/china-military-parade-live-xi-projects-power-with-putin-kim-jong-un-guests-2025-09-02/
- AP News: https://apnews.com/article/china-military-parade-world-war-xi-jinping-ed1f7b3e245882dd91b597df24eafbea
- The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/03/china-military-parade-xi-jinping-appears-with-vladimir-putin-kim-jong-un
- Al Jazeera (what/when/who, 10-year gap; start time; Kim Ju Ae mention): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/2/chinas-victory-day-military-parade-whos-attending-and-why-it-matters
- Wall Street Journal (systems on display, broader message): https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-military-parade-message-ff1a13ef
- ABC News (U.S. reaction): https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-reacts-putin-kim-jong-xi-chinas-military/story?id=12520188
Samarth Tripathi holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from Saint Gahira Guru University, Ambikapur, and a B.Ed. He has a strong interest in defence journalism, national security, and geopolitics.
Tejashree P V 
Divyanka Tandon 
Dr Nanda Kishor