China celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding on October 01, 2009 with an awe-inspiring military parade, which set a record of sorts in the number and variety of parade elements, armaments and weapons systems that were put on display. The ‘once-in-a-decade’ military display involved about 8,000 military personnel, tanks, ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 150 aircraft. The preparation and training began in several military bases on Beijing’s outskirts in May 2009 and continued relentlessly for four months.
There were reportedly 56 regiments on the ground and in the air during the parade, symbolizing the country’s 56 ethnic groups. Fourteen of the regiments marched on foot, 30 in wheeled transport and 12 took the aerial route. All troops in the parade were dressed in new uniforms introduced in 2007. Furthermore, 52 types of new weapon systems developed indigenously by China, including airborne early warning and control (AEWC) aircraft, cutting-edge weaponry, sophisticated radars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), artillery pieces, T-99 main battle tanks, sniper rifles, J-10 fighters and satellite communication devices comprehensively showcased the military strength of China.
‘Special Operations’ force made its debut in the parade for the first time. The ‘Snow Leopard’ commando force of the Peoples’ Armed Police Force (PAPF) also made the first public appearance. This anti-terrorism unit was the elite force which handled security during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The first batch of 15 female pilots carried out a splendid fly past in indigenously manufactured fighter-Trainer aircraft, which was claimed to be the most attractive sight above the Tiananmen Square. A large helicopter group, reportedly the largest in the parade history of the world, also flew past in two different formations during the parade.
The awesome display of Chinese hard power was matched equally in words. Liang Guanglie, Minister of National Defense, in a media interview a day prior to the parade, was quoted as saying that “China has drawn up a three-step development strategy, starting with laying ‘a solid foundation’ by 2010. According to the above strategy, the Ground forces would give priority to nationwide mobility instead of regional defense, the Navy would be armed with strong coastal defense capabilities, as well as means of warfare farther out to sea, the Air Force would be upgraded from territorial air defense to the combination of offense and defense, and the missile force will become an effective strategic force capable of both conventional and nuclear launches.”
The above military display and associated sound bytes sought to signal to the world, the significant transformation of the PLA from a manpower-intensive force to a technology-driven one, capable of joint operations in modern warfare. The message of Chinese comprehensive national power, well represented by its modern armed forces was duly noted worldwide, the apprehensions about the Chinese intent notwithstanding.
While the display of the military muscle left external observers in no doubt, the Chinese themselves appeared quite apprehensive. The whole celebration, including the parade, as also the preparations and long drawn out rehearsals, were held under unprecedented security. The Chinese government reportedly flooded Beijing with armed police and up to one million security volunteers to head off any unrest. The volunteers, many of them retirees working on Party-controlled neighborhood committees, swarmed through the city’s streets to guarantee security and communications during the celebration activities. While the parade featured military hardware and other symbols of China’s growing strength and confidence, the security accompanying the celebrations underscored the Party’s fear of any unrest that could challenge its authority. The Chinese police confiscated close to 53,000 guns by the end of August in a nationwide crackdown that started in March this year. The crackdown was part of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s campaign to maintain stability, prior to the anniversary celebrations. Police also confiscated more than two million bullets and 120,000 imitation guns. The paranoid security establishment even announced certain bizarre measures. For instance, persons who kept pigeons as pets were instructed to lock them in their coops.
Beijing was literally converted into an island, with the Ministry of Public Security implementing a concept of a “security moat” in six neighboring regions. These included Hebei, Liaoning, Shandong and Shanxi provinces, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the Tianjin Municipality. The concept involved the isolation and possible resolution of all ‘destabilizing factors’ locally and preventing them from entering Beijing.
Fear Factor
The unprecedented security under which the celebrations were conducted indicated a certain fear factor in the minds of the Chinese communist leadership and security officials. The most obvious issues of concern were the likelihood of the Uyghur and Tibetan crisis flaring up again, when China was under the global spotlight.
The widespread and violent riots in Urumqi town of Xinjiang province in July this year claimed 197 lives and left about 1600 persons injured. The underlying tension and anti-Han sentiments continue to simmer, as evidenced in the subsequent mysterious syringe attack incidents. Though the Chinese officialdom quickly controlled the situation with a heavy hand, it came in for a lot of criticism on human rights issues from local as well as international bodies. China though tried to assure the world through government-controlled media that all was well. China even published a white paper on September 21, 2009 giving details of development and progress in the Xinjiang region, stressing on political messages of national unification, ethnic unity and social stability, while holding “East Turkistan” forces responsible for seriously disrupting Xinjiang’s development by trumpeting separatism and organizing a number of bloody incidents of terror and violence.
The Tibetan dissidence issues were also a cause of equal concern for the Chinese security establishment in the run up to the National Day celebrations. Tibet witnessed a major crisis in March-April 2008, leading to widespread rioting. The unrest was not confined only to Tibet, but also spread to the Tibetan dominated adjacent provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan, and found worldwide support across many nations. India Nepal, Denmark, France, US, Germany and Japan amongst others, saw major protests in support of the Tibetan cause and against what was termed ‘Chinese repression’. The significance and timing of the incidents was not lost on either the Tibetans or the Chinese, as China, at that time, was giving final shape to its preparations for the August 2008 Olympics under ever watchful international eyes.
China had to resort to considerable force to quell the rioting and restore normalcy in the trouble-torn region, while trying its best to maintain a positive, humane, just and balanced outward image. 18 persons were officially reported killed in the riots and subsequent crackdown, though the Tibetan government in exile put the figure at over 200. Ever since, China has maintained a considerable force level in Tibet, to keep the underlying discontent in check and prevent recurrence. Severe restrictions were imposed on local residents and the entry of foreigners into Tibet has been banned on at least three occasions during the preceding year – once after the Tibetan riots, the second time during Olympics, and lastly during the 50th anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising in March this year. China has now barred foreigners from travelling to Tibet from September 24 to October 8, until well after the October 1 celebrations, indicating intense official concern over internal security.
To be fair to the Chinese security establishment, it had to control the precarious law and order situation in both the restive regions along its outer periphery, as no government would allow the activities of so called ‘extremists and separatists’ to escalate to a point where they threaten the very territorial integrity of the nation itself. The Chinese government did just that, albeit with a force level that was considered to be well in excess of what the situation warranted.
If it is argued that China has managed the most obvious potential threats to the successful conduct of the National Day celebrations quite satisfactorily, what then are the real threats that kept the Chinese communist bosses on the tenterhooks, leading to unprecedented internal security? The real but intangible issues appeared to be the direct or indirect fallout arising out of the abovementioned obvious threats, or possibly from some unforeseen internal disturbances. The most damaging would have been the loss of its international image that it has strived so hard to build, since the start of the 21st century, the image of ‘a nation rising peacefully towards the super power stature’. The successful conduct of the 2008 Olympic Games was also seen as an important milestone in the consolidation of that image.
The other issue of concern was to prevent the feeling of ‘strong Nationalism’ amongst the domestic constituency from waning, by showing the ruthless efficiency, administrative acumen and competence of ‘The Party’ run government. This issue assumes all the more salience in the current scenario of severe economic downturn, which has brought to the fore, associated ills like large scale unemployment, income disparity and rural-urban divide, which have adversely affected millions of common citizens in China. The relations between the Chinese public and their rulers have historically, been tenuous, mainly on account of the opulent, inconsistent, strife-torn and largely personality driven leadership, having scant regard for the well being of the common man and good governance. This has often led to the rise of a new breed of advisors, middlemen and pseudo-elite wheeler dealers, whose sole aim is to derive personal gratification at the cost of both, the leadership as well as the common man. Systemic corruption and nepotism has disillusioned the public further, the manifestations of which are seen in the increasing frequency of protests and internal disturbances.
The ‘Party’ thus decided to stir the underlying Chinese ‘Self-pride’ sentiment, a belief that China is the centre of the Universe as the Chinese word “Zhongguo” (literally translated as ‘middle kingdom’) symbolize, to counter the adverse public perception and to strengthen internal control. The leadership gradually managed to raise the ‘Nationalism’ quotient by maintaining a healthy economic growth for over a decade, and has sought to boost the same by conducting mega events like the Olympics at ‘never heard, never seen before’ scale and tactful handling of mega disasters like the May 2008 earthquake, through adroit media management. The leadership therefore, could not allow anything, however remote, to interfere with the smooth conduct of National Day celebrations.
The Dragon has been riding the ‘economic Capitalism’ tiger for the last few decades and has predictably reaped tremendous benefits while the going was good, by applying Chinese characteristics to the model. These are trickier times, when the pitfalls of the model, when subject to turbulent and unpredictable market forces, have become apparent. The Dragon appears to have worked out a certain strategy, not only to weather the current crisis, but also benefit from it, as is evident from its increased swagger at various global economic fora. In the meanwhile, it has to hold on tightly to power by ensuring complete and unquestioned support of the domestic constituency. The conduct of mega Anniversary celebrations and keeping them incident free was thus the foremost concern of the Communist rulers of China. That probably explains the unprecedented internal security arrangements mounted for the mega event, under clear orders of none other than Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee Politbureau, the apex party organ, who stressed that the “safety of China’s National Day celebrations and stability in Beijing were of overriding importance.”
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About the Author:
Commander Kamlesh Kumar Agnihotri is a Research Fellow with the China Cell of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. The views expressed are his own and do not reflect the official views of Indian Navy or the National Maritime Foundation. The Author can be reached at kkagnihotri@maritimeindia.org
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