BEIJING -- China's military brought its latest weaponry to the National Day parade through Tiananmen Square on Thursday, including medium- and long-range missiles, fighter planes and armored vehicles, alongside goose-stepping troops.
The missiles and equipment are the latest manifestations of China's more than 10-year-old effort to modernize its military, prompted in part by a confrontation with the United States in 1996 after Washington sent aircraft carriers to protect Taiwan from Chinese missile threats. Ahead of Thursday's parade, U.S. analysts had been most concerned about infantry combat vehicles, long-range missiles, and missiles that might be aimed at aircraft carriers.
Still, many foreign military analysts anticipated few, if any, surprises Thursday because most of the equipment has been seen at weapons fairs or in satellite photos, including some available through Google, taken during months of rehearsals for the celebration marking the 60th anniversary of China's Communist Revolution.
"They've had a couple of practice runs, and it seems that most of what will be in the parade we've seen already," said Richard D. Fisher Jr., a senior fellow on Asian military affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center.
"Much or most of what will be on display will be same or upgraded models or variations of stuff that was on display 10 years ago," said Dennis J. Blasko, an independent analyst who served 23 years in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer and foreign area officer specializing in China.
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