Chinese military helicopters, taking part in a rehearsal ahead of a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, fly over a flock of birds, in Beijing on August 23, 2015. China will hold a huge military parade on September 3, which will mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Japanese forces as well as the broader defeat of the Axis powers in World War II. AFP
BEIJING, China 鈥� From Belarus to Vanuatu, China on Tuesday issued a list of world leaders attending next week鈥檚 huge military parade to mark Japan鈥檚 defeat in World War II that was notable for its absences.
The display, a show of strength which comes as Beijing takes a more assertive stance regionally, will see 12,000 soldiers and 500 pieces of hardware roll through Tiananmen Square, with almost 200 aircraft flying overhead.
Chinese officials listed 24 heads of state and government as attending, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Korea鈥檚 Park Geun-Hye and South Africa鈥檚 Jacob Zuma among the most prominent. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also go.
Notable among the absentees on the list was North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who has yet to visit Beijing despite China being his country鈥檚 key diplomatic protector.
Pyongyang was sending politburo member Choe Ryong-Hae, officials said.
鈥淚t is up to foreign countries to decide on who to send,鈥� said Zhang Ming, a deputy foreign minister. 鈥淎s the old Chinese saying goes, 鈥榓nyone who comes is our guest鈥�. We welcome them all.鈥�
Communist China generally shies away from the vast annual demonstrations of military might that were a hallmark of the Soviet Union, normally holding such events once a decade to mark the foundation of the People鈥檚 Republic.
It has struggled to attract world-wide interest for the parade as world leaders are wary of the tone of the event, and the risk of lending it legitimacy.
Beijing is becoming increasingly assertive in the region and regularly accuses Tokyo of failing to show sufficient contrition for Japan鈥檚 20th-century invasion of China.
The conflict is officially known in the country as the 鈥淐hinese People鈥檚 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War鈥�.
Zhang told reporters: 鈥淭he commemorations do not target any specific country, not today鈥檚 Japan nor the Japanese people in general.鈥�
But neither Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nor any official representative of Tokyo will go. Former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama 鈥� who issued a landmark apology for the war in 1995 鈥� will be present in a personal capacity.
The only European Union head of state or government named as attending was Czech President Milos Zeman.
France and Italy will send their foreign ministers, officials said, but the governments of the US, Germany and Canada will be represented only by their resident ambassadors.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair will attend, but not in an official capacity.
A total of 17 countries are sending troops to take part, including Russia, Cuba, Serbia and Mexico, along with several of China鈥檚 neighbors.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a similar parade in Moscow in May commemorating victory over Nazi Germany.
Xi and Putin hold frequent summits and their countries, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, often take similar stances there on divisive issues such as the conflict in Syria.
China鈥檚 Communists were largely an underground force during World War II, with the brunt of the campaign against the Japanese fought by soldiers of the country鈥檚 then Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-Shek.