Commitment to peace, not to conflicts

Five-year and 10-year anniversaries have always been of great importance to the Chinese people. No wonder a grand parade has been planned for Oct 1 to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The parade, the biggest ever, according to the organizers, apart from highlighting China's achievements in other fields, will also showcase some new advanced weapons for the first time.

As is the international practice, a parade acts as a platform for a country to demonstrate its military strength, which could act as deterrence to belligerent foreign powers and reassurance to the people that the country can defend itself against any attacks.