(Recast) Spotlight: Foreign honor guards expect participation in China's V-Day parade

Foreign national guards are looking forward to China's V-Day parade to be held on Sep. 3 in Beijing, which is the country's first to invite foreign armies to participate in a military parade.

Seventeen foreign countries from continents of Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa and the Americas have sent troops to join the parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

A total of 12,000 troops and 500 pieces of equipment are expected to march through the Tian'anmen Square, with nearly 200 aircraft expected to fly overhead in formations.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said it is a landmark event for China and the whole world, symbolizing a sense of pride with a celebration for heroism and the older generation's remarkable feats.

Kazakhstan has sent a guard of honor consisting of some 100 soldiers, which means that both Kazakhstan and China made contributions to the Allied victory in WWII by jointly fighting Fascism.

Mexico also sent a delegation of 75 people, including a captain, three officers and 71 cadets from Mexico's naval school, military and air force colleges. It has been preparing rigorously since early this month.

Mexican army cadets feel proud and excited for the participation in China's V-Day parade, said Jose Carlos Luna Loaeza, captain of the Secretariat of the Navy General Corps (Semar) and commander of the naval and military contingent to China.

China is a fascinating country with "a very rich culture ... With this event, we want to help Mexico become a player with global responsibility," he added.

Kyrgyzstan has attached great importance to the forthcoming parade as well, made careful and special preparations for this big event, and set very high standards for selecting and training soldiers.

"Fascism is an evil and threat to all mankind. And with our joint efforts and fight, we won together. So now to jointly celebrate the overall victory is a very good decision," said Satybaldyev Melis, Commander of Kyrgyz National Guard.

"Honor and Glory" is a hot topic among the soldiers, he added, saying that "everyone wants to do the best in the parade, and to gain honor for their own country."

Col. Sitiveni Qiliho, land force commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), told Xinhua that the upcoming event in China will be an eye-opener for him and his colleagues.

"First of all, it will be the biggest parade that I'll witness -- with over 10,000 troops on parade. That will be the biggest I will ever witness in my military (career) -- I've never been to such a parade," he said.

"It is a great honor for the Republic of Fiji Military Forces that we're sending our troops to be part of such an occasion ... We're a small country, and we have a small military, but we see the importance of being part of this parade," he added.

Calling the anti-fascist WWII "a war of survival" for China, Qiliho commended the Asian country for the contributions it made toward the victory of the Allied forces.

"China has contributed enormously to the outcome of the war and the years of peace that have prevailed since the surrender of the Axis countries," said the Fijian commander.

"It should be also noted that China fixed the Japanese main effort during that war, and allowed other Allied countries to gain advantage to annihilate the axis forces in the Pacific, Asia and Europe -- that's the way we see," he added.

Tajikistan sent a delegation of 83 people, including soldiers and support personnel, which has once attended military parades in France and Russia.

A Tajikistan's military interpreter named Agis expressed his honor and excitement on China's invitation to participate in this parade, saying that witnessing this historic celebration will be a lifetime experience. Endi