China's grand parade on Thursday, held to mark Japan's defeat in World War II, stirred nationalist sentiments as 12,000 troops marched near Tiananmen Square alongside the latest weapons and aircraft on display.
The event was marked by a speech from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said he would downsize the nation's 2.3 million-member armed forces by 300,000, The New York Times reported.
Military officials defended the decision, and Senior Col. Zhou Bou, director of the International Security Cooperation at the Ministry of National Defense, said the reductions would mean improvements to China's People's Liberation Army.
"To have it reduced means that the quality of the P.L.A. has actually increased," Zhou told the Times.



Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be quaking in his boots at the decisive victory of...
Vladimir Putin has said that the outline of a draft peace plan discussed by the US...
The suspected shooter of two national guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday worked with CIA-backed...
Israeli forces launched an extensive military assault on the northern occupied West Bank city of Tubas...





























