Our army is bigger than YOURS! China, Russia and Nato forces put on a huge show of strength as the world's powers flex their military muscles
- The world's superpowers have flexed their muscles in massive parades to showcase their military prowess
- China put on huge show of force in a parade to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army
- It featured 12,000 troops, 570 vehicles and 129 jets - including China's latest J-20 stealth fighter
- Elsewhere today, Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a pomp-filled display of Russia's naval might
- In response, Georgia and the United States launched their biggest ever joint military exercises today
- The exercises also included 400 servicemen from Armenia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK
The world's superpowers have flexed their muscles in massive parades to showcase their military strength.
China put on an ostentatious show of military force in a parade to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army, overseen by President Xi Jinping.
Troops, nuclear missile launchers and new stealth aircraft all featured in the parade at the remote Zhurihe training base in China's remote Inner Mongolia region.
The base is Asia's largest military training centre and features life-size mockup targets, including Taiwan's presidential palace.
China's party-run media said about 12,000 troops, more than 100 types of aircraft and 600 pieces of military hardware were put on display at the sprawling desert camp
A formation soldiers from the PLA's Rocket Force, which controls the nation's arsenal of nuclear and conventional ballistic missiles, shout pledges of loyalty during the parade, which are part of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army
Chinese Type 99 tanks parade, followed by elite airborne troops in helicopters above. The march took place at the remote Zhurihe training base in inner Mongolia, which is Asia's largest military training centre. The Chinese military said the parade had been planned for some time, and was not related to the current tensions in North Korea
The PLA rolled out some of its latest weapons at the parade, including the DF-31AG ICBM (pictured). The nuclear-capable ballistic missile has a reported range of 6,000 miles. President Trump has sharply criticized China for not doing enough to stem the nuclear ambitions of North Korea
Clad in military fatigues President Xi Jinping oversaw the massive show of force. He called on the PLA to transform itself into an elite fighting force and demanded that the troops pledge 'absolute loyalty' to the Communist Party. Xi's corruption purges have seen dozens of officers removed from the PLA
Clad in military fatigues President Xi inspected the 12,000 troops, repeatedly shouting 'Hello comrades!' and 'Comrades, you are working hard!' into microphones fixed on top of a jeep.
Troops shouted back: 'Serve the people!', 'Follow the Party!', 'Fight to win!' and 'Forge exemplary conduct!'
In a live address Xi, who commands the People's Liberation Army, called on the Chinese military to transform itself into an elite fighting force to bolster the country's rise into a world power.
He said the Chinese military had the capabilities to 'preserve national sovereignty, security and interests' and demanded the troops' show 'absolute loyalty' to the party
The PLA has undergone an extensive modernisation programme with the strategic aim of competing with the US for regional dominance.
Hundreds of thousands of troops have been cut, and an anti-corruption purge has removed dozens of officers, while also investing heavily in aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and stealth fighters.
A trio of Chinese J-20 stealth fighters fly overhead during the parade. The newest generation fighter by the Chinese air force is the country's most advanced aircraft and designed to potentially rival the F-22 and the F-35 of the US Air Force
Divisions on display: Up to 12,000 troops, 570 vehicles and 129 jets participated in the parade. State media reported that it was the first time that 40 per cent of the vehicles had been presented, which highlighted China's massive military spending
Xi said the military must, 'Always listen to and follow the party's orders, and march to wherever the party points' and said that the world was not peaceful, however he did not specify any hot spots the Chinese military would intervene in
China's military has undergone an extensive modernisation programme, cutting thousands of troops while investing heavily in modern technology, including drones, stealth fighters, nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers
Unlike previous parades seen in Beijing, the troops in Inner Mongolia were clad in full combat gear, to further emphasis their readiness. It was also the first time that President Xi had reviewed troops in such a way
Missile launchers, self-propelled artillery and transport helicopters stand on display behind the formations of troops. Xi said the Chinese military had the capabilities to 'preserve national sovereignty, security and interests'
It has been decades since China last fought a war and the country insists it has no hostile intent, and simply needs to defend itself. However it's increasingly assertive stance in the South China Sea has rattled its neighbours
More than 100 planes flew overhead and almost 600 types of weaponry were on display for the occasion — nearly half of which were making their debut in public, according to the Defence Ministry
The Chinese flag is raised during a military parade at the Zhurihe training base in China's northern Inner Mongolia region
Since coming to power in 2012, the president has trumpeted the need to build a stronger combat-ready military, while leading efforts to centralise the Communist Party's control over it
Troops make preparation for a military parade 90th birthday celebration of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Elsewhere today, Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a pomp-filled display of Russia's naval might as the Kremlin paraded its sea power from the Baltic Sea to the shores of Syria.
Some 50 warships and submarines were on show along the Neva River and in the Gulf of Finland off the country's second city of Saint Petersburg after Putin ordered the navy to hold its first ever parade on such a grand scale.
Putin told servicemen: 'Today much is being done to develop and modernise the navy. The navy is not only dealing with its traditional tasks but also responding with merit to new challenges, making a significant contribution to the fight against terrorism and piracy.'
The showcase event to mark Russia's annual Navy Day is the latest to be beefed up by Putin, with the Kremlin strongman also bolstering the traditional WWII victory parade in Moscow as he looks to flex the country's military muscles.
Russia has ramped up its military manoeuvres as ties with the West have slumped over Moscow's meddling in Ukraine, unnerving NATO and its members in Eastern Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a pomp-filled display of Russia's naval might as the Kremlin paraded its sea power from the Baltic Sea to the shores of Syria
Russia staged its own show of force on Sunday with President Putin joining a naval display
Russian warships sail during the Navy Day parade in Kronshtadt, a seaport town in the suburb of St. Petersburg
A boat with Russian President Vladimir Putin onboard sails along the Neva river during the Navy Day parade
Some 50 warships and submarines were on displayed in the Gulf of Finland and on the Neva river around St Petersburg
Russia has ramped up its military maneuvers as ties with the West have slumped over Moscow's meddling in Ukraine, unnerving NATO and its members in Eastern Europe
Russian news wire Interfax reported that six vessels, including the latest generation 'Krasnodar' diesel submarine, were taking part in the parade
In response, Georgia and the United States launched their biggest ever joint military exercises today in the latest show of support for the tiny Caucasus nation that has squared off against Russia.
The start of the drills comes a day ahead of a two-day visit to Tbilisi by US Vice President Mike Pence during which he is expected to reiterate Washington's backing for Georgia's wish to join NATO.
Some 800 Georgian and 1600 US troops are taking part in the Noble Partner 2017 drills - the largest ever in the Caucasus nation since it fought a brief war with Russia in 2008.
Georgia's Defence Minister Levan Izoria called the scale of exercises 'unprecedented', insisting they will 'make clear the support for Georgia by the NATO member states, especially the US.'
The US has sent some of its M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles across the Black Sea for the drills, which will last until August 12.
The exercises also included 400 servicemen from Armenia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
It comes a day after North Korea tested a ballistic missile that it claims can reach all of the United States, US President Donald Trump criticised China for not reining in Kim Jong Un and his missile program.
'I am very disappointed in China,' Trump wrote in a pair of Twitter posts. '...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!'
North Korea's test Friday of an intercontinental ballistic missile was its second of the long-range weapon in a month. The first on July 4 showed the missile had the range to reach Alaska.
Friday's test was designed to show the Hwasong-14 missile's maximum range with a 'large-sized heavy nuclear warhead,' a statement from Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency said.
It said Washington should regard the launch as a 'grave warning.'
British servicemen gather before the official opening ceremony of the joint multinational military exercise 'Noble Partner 2017' at the military base of Vaziani, outside Tbilisi, in Georgia
Georgian servicemen line up during the official opening ceremony of the joint multinational military exercise
The exercises included 400 servicemen from Armenia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom
US servicemen sit on a M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank before the official opening ceremony
Some 800 Georgian and 1600 US troops are taking part in the Noble Partner 2017 drills - the largest ever in the Caucasus nation since it fought a brief war with Russia in 2008
German servicemen line up during the official opening ceremony at the military base of Vaziani, in Georgia
21st CENTURY CHINA
 A circle-shaped piece of landscape architecture in Fushun, Liaoning province, on September 13, 2012. The 157-meter high building named "Ring of Life" cost around a hundred million RMB ($16 million USD) and used 3,000 tons of steel, local media reported. (Reuters/China Daily) China’s communist leaders are promising to revolutionize the world’s second largest economy and move on from being the world’s workshop. Unlike most communist governments, China’s one-party state has survived by embracing capitalism to deliver new wealth. Chinese officials recently reported they would reach their target for annual economic growth of 7.5 percent this year despite the impact of the global slowdown. Leaders hope this recovery from its slowest period of growth since early 2009 could cement a cyclical rebound in the country.  2 A paramilitary policeman in plain clothes watch tourists on the Tiananmen Gate, opposite Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, on September 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan) #   3 A competitor rides a Pac Man-themed home-made vehicle without an engine on a 600-meter-track during the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Hong Kong, on October 14, 2012. The race is judged on speed, creativity and showmanship, with competitors having to navigate their home-made human powered vehicles on the track in the best time. (Reuters/Tyrone Siu) #   4 A car, parked on a hillside with a closed coal mine sitting in the distance on the grasslands of Right Ujumchin Banner in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, on September 4, 2012. The mine was closed following protests by ethnic Mongols last year over destruction of their traditional grazing lands by open cast coal mining. As China's largest coal producer, Inner Mongolia has posted rapid economic growth, but the wealth has been unevenly distributed and open-cast mining has left scars on the landscape. (Reuters/Ben Blanchard) #   5 Old city blocks in a residential district, pictured in front of the Grand Lisboa casino (left) and other skyscrapers in Macau, on October 11, 2012. While the boon from the development of the gambling industry over the past decade has helped to improve the general standard of living -- Macau is set to be the world's fastest growing economy this year -- residents say the development of social infrastructure, transport, welfare is significantly lagging that of the gambling sector. (Reuters/Bobby Yip) #   6 Yi ethnic minority children pose in front of a house in Butuo county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, on October 3, 2012. Locked in deep mountains, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is home to the largest group of Chinese Yi minorities, as well as one of the poorest regions in China, according to local media. The Chinese characters on the wall are part of a slogan reading "To popularize the nine-year compulsory education is the inevitable responsibility for every citizen." (Reuters/China Daily) #   7 Dogs which have been dyed red upon contact with a dye called Rhodamine B extra are seen in Jinan, Shandong province, September 18, 2012. A bag of Rhodamine B extra, was dropped on a highway and drifted to a nearby village after being crushed by passing vehicles, local media reported. (Reuters/China Daily) #   8 (1 of 5) Performers play drums outside the Eighth Route Army Culture Park, one of two theme parks, in Wuxiang county, Shanxi province, on October 20, 2012. Visitors to the theme parks pay to participate in a dress up action play with performers, where they can choose to role play as soldiers from the Japanese army or the Eighth Route Army, with professional sound and lighting effects. (Reuters/Jason Lee) #   9 (2 of 5) A man dressed as an Eighth Route Army soldier checks toy weapons before a live action role-playing game based on the computer game "Stalker", at a guerrilla warfare experience park, on the outskirts of Wuxiang county, Shanxi province, on October 20, 2012. A performance named "Mountain Taihang" is also available where visitors can watch performers put on a live-action show depicting the China-Japan war. (Reuters/Jason Lee) #   10 (3 of 5) A woman dressed as a Japanese military soldier walks in a trench during a live action role-playing game based on the computer game "Stalker", at a guerrilla warfare experience park in north China's Shanxi province, on October 20, 2012. The two parks, located near the former headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, a military group controlled by the Communist Party of China during the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War, cost the Wuxiang government around 500 million RMB ($80 million) to construct. (Reuters/Jason Lee) #   11 (4 of 5) Visitors on a rail car use toy weapons to shoot at images of Japanese soldiers displayed as targets at a guerrilla warfare experience park in Wuxiang county, on October 20, 2012. (Reuters/Jason Lee) #   12 (5 of 5) A visitor uses a toy weapon to shoot targets made to look like Japanese soldiers at a guerrilla warfare experience park, in north China's Shanxi province, on October 20, 2012. (Reuters/Jason Lee) #   13 A visitor takes a picture of jellyfish with her mobile phone under the green lights at an aquarium in Wuhan, Hubei province, on September 28, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #   14 A passenger jet flies past the setting sun above Shanghai, on September 29, 2012. (Reuters/Aly Song) #   15 A model presents a creation by emerging designers presented by Femina Magazine during the 2013 Spring/Summer show at Shanghai Fashion Week, on October 18, 2012. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   16 An ethnic Uighur man takes a nap on a board as his goat, tied to the board, stands next to him at a demolition site in Aksu, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, on August 13, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #   17 A Chinese helicopter takes part in rescue drills in Zhoushan in east China's Zhejiang province, on October 19, 2012. China was flexing some maritime muscle in its dispute with Japan over a chain of uninhabited islands, holding naval exercises in the East China Sea to demonstrate its ability to enforce offshore territorial claims. (AP Photo) #   18 A competitor looks out at the city of Shanghai, after finishing the 2012 Sky Marathon at the Shanghai World Financial Center, on October 20, 2012. More than 300 competitors participated in the second edition of the Sky Marathon hosted at the Shanghai World Financial Center, China's tallest building. The vertical race takes competitors up 100 floors, covering 2,754 stairs and 474 meters. The winner, Austria's Rolf Majcen, an economist and lawyer, climbed to the top in 18 minutes and 55 seconds. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   19 The Three Gorges Hotel (left) and the passenger terminal of Chongqing Port (right) collapse after demolition by explosives in Chongqing, China, on August 30, 2012. The 32-story landmark passenger terminal and the hotel, which face the city's Chaotianmen Square, were demolished by controlled explosives. A new building with complex functions of transportation hub, tourism, trade and business will be built as an improving project of Chaotianmen area. (Reuters/China Daily) #   20 A Chinese rocket loaded with Venezuelan satellite VRSS-1, a remote sensing satellite, lifts off from the launch pad in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province, on September 29, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #   21 A protester from the Occupy Hong Kong movement, inside a tent before being removed by bailiffs from the area at the HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong, on September 11, 2012. Police cleared a few remaining Occupy Hong Kong protesters from an open-air plaza beneath HSBC's Asian headquarters, nearly a year after the anti-capitalists pitched their tents in the heart of Hong Kong's financial district. (Reuters/Bobby Yip) #   22 Ships sail on the Yangtze River near Badong, 100km (62 miles) from the Three Gorges dam in Hubei province, on August 7, 2012. The environmental problems associated with the Three Gorges dam illustrate China's energy dilemma: To move away from its reliance on coal-fired power plants, Beijing says it has to develop cleaner forms of power. Hydropower is the most cost-effective way China can meet its energy needs, but its problems are still unfolding. The dam cost China more than $50 billion and displaced 1.4 million people while another 100,000 people may be moved from Hubei and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing in the next three to five years due to geological risks an official said in April. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   23 Women attend an interview during a job fair for China Eastern Airlines flight attendants in Shanghai, on October 19, 2012. Some 2,000 people signed up for interviews as China Eastern Airlines planned to recruit 800 flight attendants from Shanghai, local media reported. (Reuters/Aly Song) #   24 Sun Jifa raises his prosthetic forearms in Yong Ji county, Jilin province, on September 25, 2012. Sun, a Chinese farmer who lost his forearms in a dynamite fishing accident 32 years ago, could not afford to buy prosthetic limbs. He spent two years guiding his two nephews to build his prosthesis from scrap metal, plastic and rubber. Over the years, Sun and his nephews have built about 300 prosthetic limbs for people in need, charging 3000 RMB ($476) each. (Reuters/Sheng Li) #   25 Mid-level government officials dressed in red army uniforms listen to a lesson as they visit a historic house where former Chinese leader Mao Zedong used to live during their 5-day training course at the communist party school called China Executive Leadership Academy of Jinggangshan, in Jiangxi province, on September 21, 2012. The Academy was established in 2005 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. During the course, trainees listen and sing revolutionary songs, visit old revolutionary sites and review historical communist materials. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   26 A replica of a Kuomintang aircraft explodes during a battle re-enactment of the Defense of Yan'an at a tourist attraction in Yan'an, in China's Shaanxi province, on October 19, 2012. Yan'an was the 1940s communist base where Mao retreated to, escaping Kuomintang forces and regrouped to plot a revolution that brought the Communists into power in 1949. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) #   27 Actors perform a theatrical re-enactment of the Red Army battles and the beginning of the Long March in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi province, on September 20, 2012. Jinggangshan is where former Chinese leader Mao Zedong's career as a revolutionary began to take off. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   28 Actors perform a theatrical re-enactment of the Red Army battles and the beginning of the Long March in Jinggangshan, on September 20, 2012. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   29 A child dressed like a communist Red Army soldier is shown how to use a replica pistol at a 1940s communist base tourist attraction in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, on October 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) #   30 Researchers dressed in panda costumes try to approach giant panda Taotao and its mother Caocao in Wolong National Nature Reserve, on October 7, 2012. Taotao and its mother Caocao were transferred down from a 2,100-meter high mountain to Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for a health examination and to be prepared for reintroduction to the wild. Researchers wore the costumes to ensure that the cub's environment was devoid of human influence, according to local media. (Reuters/China Daily) #   31 Protesters fill a circular junction during a mass demonstration against the launch of national education outside government headquarters in Hong Kong, on September 8, 2012. Shortly afterwards, the Hong Kong government said that schools did not have to adopt a China-backed curriculum from 2015 in an apparent backdown following protests by tens of thousands of people who described it as an attempt to brainwash students. (Reuters/Bobby Yip) #   32 A worker immersed in fine dust inside an open-air plant which crushes rocks to produce construction materials on the Gobi Deserton Gobi Desert in Aksu, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, on September 14, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #   33 Chen Mingzhi, a shoe designer, sits inside of his handmade 1.9 meter-long (6.23 foot-long) right shoe at his family store in Wenling, Zhejiang province, on September 27, 2012. Chen, new to the business of shoe-making, was challenged by a neighbor to create a big shoe. The leather shoe weighs 38 kg (83.8 pounds) and took him two months to make at a cost of 2,000 rmb ($317.30). (Reuters/Carlos Barria) #   34 Chinese paramilitary policemen and medical officers halt their operation as an aftershock triggers a landslide in Zhaotong town in Yiliang county in southwest China's Yunnan province, on September 8, 2012. Survivors of two earthquakes that killed 80 people in a mountainous area of southwest China were desperately waiting for more aid to arrive as jolting aftershocks kept fears high and hindered rescue efforts. (AP Photo) #   35 A flock of geese swims in a branch of the Yangtze river in Dongtu county, Anhui province, on October 9, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #   36 A man, whose wife went to the city to take care of their grandson, watches television in his cave-room in Yuncheng, Shanxi province. (Reuters/China Daily) #   37 A man collects radishes outside his home near a construction site of a residential complex on the outskirts of Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on October 18, 2012. (Reuters/Jon Woo) #   38 Rescuers attempt to stop a man from committing suicide on a bridge in Wuhan, Hubei province, on October 8, 2012. The man was rescued after he climbed onto the top of a bridge over the Yangtze River and threatened his own life if his economic dispute could not be resolved. (Reuters/Stringer) #   39 Chinese military troops stand at attention for visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Bayi Building in Beijing, on September 18, 2012. Panetta was on the second official stop of a three-nation tour to Japan, China and New Zealand. (Reuters/Larry Downing) #   40 A boy plays in corn kernels piled up at his father's store in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, on September 9, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #   41 A resident holds a spittoon as he walks in an area where old residential buildings are being demolished to make room for new skyscrapers in central Shanghai, on October 17, 2012. (Reuters/Aly Song) #   42 A girl has makeup applied before a rehearsal at the Peking Opera summer camp organized by the Peking Opera House in Beijing, on August 14, 2012. The summer training course was held to attract the public to traditional Chinese per |
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