CHINA’S Victory Parade on Sept 3 (pic) was more than pageantry; it was a warning shot about the future of war. With cyber, space and information warfare now centre stage, Malaysia must turn to its greatest strength – defence diplomacy.
Our ability to build trust, balance powers and shape regional security will determine whether South-east Asia remains stable amid intensifying rivalry.
The parade held in Beijing was more than a spectacle of power. It was a statement, a declaration that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is no longer simply modernising; it is also redefining warfare itself.
For Malaysia and Asean, the lesson is unmistakable – the battlefield of tomorrow will extend far beyond land, sea and air. It will be fought in cyberspace, outer space and the invisible realm of information.
The response must not be passivity but strategy and, above all, defence diplomacy.
For the first time, China showcased three new branches. The Information Support Force, the Cyberspace Force, and the Aerospace Force. These are not symbolic formations.
They signal the elevation of data and algorithms, satellites and electronic warfare to the same status as tanks, ships and aircraft.
China’s message is clear; victory will belong to those who dominate information, not just territory. It is a pivot from platform-centric power to information-centric warfare, an approach that mirrors Nato and US doctrines of multi-domain operations.
Military parades are theatre, but in Beijing theatre is strategy. To its people, China portrays: “We are secure and advanced.” To Washington, it signals: “We can fight across every domain.”
To its neighbours, the message is unmistakable: “We are no longer only a regional power; we are a global power.”
Malaysia can draw at least three key lessons from this signal. First, cyber and space resilience must become national priorities. Our financial systems, communications and power grids remain exposed to sophisticated cyberattacks.
Satellites and networks are potential first targets in any conflict. The upcoming Second Phase of Defence White Paper (2026 – 2030) must treat cyber and space security as essential pillars of national defence.
Second, strategic balancing has become a non-negotiable requirement.
Malaysia cannot afford to be ensnared in a great power rivalry, but we also cannot afford to remain silent. Defence diplomacy has emerged as a fundamental strategy. Engaging China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia and others is the instrument that protects our sovereignty and Asean’s neutrality.
Third, innovation in defence is an urgent imperative. The National Defence Industry Policy (DIPN) and Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP) must prioritise dual-use technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, cybersecurity solutions and satellite applications. Without innovation, resilience will remain out of reach.
The lesson from Beijing is not that Malaysia should embark on an arms race. It is that we must strengthen defence diplomacy as the first line of security. Defence diplomacy is about building trust with partners, engaging competitors with clarity, and using dialogue to prevent miscalculation.
It means engaging in joint exercises, officer exchanges, technology collaboration and transparent communication.
For our country, it also means positioning ourselves as a bridge, a country trusted enough to convene conversations between rivals, but firm enough to defend our national interests.
China’s parade revealed a military ready to fight across every domain. But Malaysia’s strength does not lie in matching missile for missile. Our strength lies in building coalitions, shaping norms and leading through diplomacy.
The real contest of this century is not only about who parades the largest arsenal but who builds the most resilient, cooperative and stable security architecture. That is the contest where Malaysia, through defence diplomacy, must lead.
Smoke billows in the distance from an oil refinery following an Israeli strike on the Iranian capital Tehran. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM: President Donald Trump called on Tuesday for Iran's unconditional surrender and warned US patience was wearing thin, but said there was no intention to kill Iran's leader "for now", as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day.
Explosions were reported in Tehran and the city of Isfahan in central Iran, while Israel said Iran fired more missiles late on Tuesday and early Wednesday. Air raid sirens sounded in southern and central Israel, and explosions were heard over Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said it had conducted strikes on 12 missile launch sites and storage facilities in Tehran.
Trump's comments, delivered via social media, suggested a more aggressive stance toward Iran as he weighs whether to deepen US involvement.
"We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," he wrote on Truth Social. "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now... Our patience is wearing thin."
Three minutes later, he posted, "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and hanged in 2006 after a trial.
"I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens," Katz told top Israeli military officials.
Trump's sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close US ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures — not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to foreign policy.
Trump said on Monday that he might send US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet Iranian officials. The president said his early departure from the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada had "nothing to do" with working on a ceasefire deal, and that something "much bigger" was expected.
Britain's leader Keir Starmer said there was no indication the US was about to enter the conflict.
Trump met for 90 minutes with his National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the conflict, a White House official said. Details were not immediately available.
The US is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, three US officials told Reuters. The move follows other deployments that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described as defensive in nature. The US has so far only taken defensive actions in the current conflict with Iran, including helping to shoot down missiles fired toward Israel.
Women react as they check the destruction in the northern Arab-Israeli city of Tamra. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Regional Influence Weakens
Khamenei's main military and security advisers have been killed by Israeli strikes, hollowing out his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had killed Iran's wartime chief of staff Ali Shadmani, four days after he replaced another top commander killed in the strikes.
With Iranian leaders suffering their most dangerous security breach since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country's cybersecurity command banned officials from using communications devices and mobile phones, Fars news agency reported.
Israel launched a "massive cyber war" against Iran's digital infrastructure, Iranian media reported.
Ever since Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war, Khamenei's regional influence has waned as Israel has pounded Iran's proxies — from Hamas in Gaza to Hizbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq. Iran's close ally, Syria's autocratic president Bashar al-Assad, has been ousted.
Israel launched its air war — its largest ever on Iran — on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran's nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment.
Before Israel's attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.
The IAEA said on Tuesday an Israeli strike directly hit the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility.
The Iranian news website Eghtesadonline, which covers economic news, reported on Tuesday that Iran arrested a foreigner for filming "sensitive" areas at the Bushehr nuclear power plant for Israel's spy agency Mossad.
People take cover inside a cable car tunnel following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, at Haifa, Israel June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Itay Cohen
Iranian security forces also arrested a "terrorist team" linked to Israel with explosives in a town southwest of the capital Tehran, Iranian state media reported.
Oil Markets on Alert
Israel says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in coming days.
But Israel will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites like Fordow, which is dug beneath a mountain, without the US joining the attack. Israel's Katz said Fordow was an issue that will be addressed.
Iran has so far fired nearly 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel, with about 35 missiles penetrating Israel's defensive shield, Israeli officials say.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they hit Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate and the foreign intelligence service Mossad's operational centre early on Tuesday. There was no Israeli confirmation.
Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Residents of both countries have been evacuated or fled.
Global oil markets are on high alert following strikes on sites including the world's biggest gas field, South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.
Model of a J-10CE fighter jet is on display at the booth of China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation at the 17th edition of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2025) held in Langkawi, Malaysia on May 20, 2025. Photo: Screenshot from the military channel of China Central Television
China is displaying a selection of its top aviation products including the J-10CE and FC-31 fighter jets at an international defense expo that kicked off on Tuesday in Malaysia, with a Chinese expert saying that Chinese military aircraft and their associated systems could become good choices for potential international buyers.
The 17th edition of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2025) kicked off in Langkawi, Malaysia on Tuesday, with defense and associated companies from around the globe eyeing a higher profile in Asia's defense sector, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) brought models of the J-10CE fighter jet and the FC-31 fighter jet to the expo, the military channel of China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.
Many visitors gathered at the CATIC booth to see these two models, according to the CCTV report.
Recently, China's made-for-export J-10CE fighter jet has been under the spotlight, with major media outlets having focused on the news that the J-10CE has recently achieved its first real combat success.
Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that the J-10CE is a combat-proven warplane. With advanced avionics and radar systems plus the PL-15E missile, the aircraft has strong beyond-visual-range combat capabilities.
Displaying a model of the J-10CE at the LIMA 2025 showed China's willingness to promote the export of the aircraft. With the J-10CE being a top-class fighter jet, many countries could consider procuring to modernize their warplane fleet, Fu said.
Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times that the J-10 series fighter jet has also been widely deployed by the Chinese military, which adds to the aircraft's reliability.
Besides the fourth-generation fighter jet J-10, China is also offering the fifth-generation fighter jet FC-31. It is more and more likely that Chinese defense products will gain a greater share in the international market in the future, Wang said.
In addition to the J-10CE and the FC-31 fighter jets, the Chinese booth also displayed models of the Y-20 strategic transport aircraft, the Y-9 tactical transport aircraft, the Z-10 attack helicopter and the Z-9 multirole helicopter, the CCTV report showed. Fu said that China is exhibiting complete systems of aviation equipment, including different genres of aircraft of different sizes and purposes. They can meet the different demands of potential international buyers, who can choose from the Chinese products based on their needs.
It also showed that China's aviation industry is developing in all directions, offering all types of products, Fu said.
The LIMA 2025 is scheduled to last until Saturday. Organized biennially, the exhibition features 860 exhibitors representing various sectors in maritime and aerospace. They will be joined by 140 delegates from 46 countries and regions, including heads of military, enforcement agencies and other government officials, according to the organizer, Xinhua reported.
At the ongoing Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2025) in Malaysia, global aviation powers are showcasing their top-tier equipment. The J-10CE fighter jet, the export variant of the J-10C, took the center stage at the Chinese booth, shortly following its remarkable debut in real combat, captivating international visitors and military analysts who were eager to observe the aircraft
Photo: VCG Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from May 7 to 10 and attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union and the World Anti-Fascist War. Xi's Russia visit will not only deepen bilateral ties at the level of head-of-state diplomacy but will also hold broader significance for the world.
The international order is currently facing multiple shocks, and the underlying causes are closely linked to the erosion of the view of the World War II (WWII) history.
The rise of unilateralism has broken with the post-war tradition of multilateral cooperation; the spread of historical revisionism has intensified the fragmentation of international norms; and the resurgence of exclusionary ideologies has led to social division. Some right-wing politicians use various means to obscure and distort the history of WWII, while others seek to gain political benefits and solidify their positions by whitewashing fascism. Even more dangerously, the flawed historical view is feeding a vicious cycle alongside geopolitical conflicts: In an attempt at containment, they denigrate - or even deny - the historical contributions of China and Russia; and in the name of a "free and open Indo-Pacific," they seek to breach the pacifist postwar constitution and resurrect military adventurism.
Against this backdrop, the joint advocacy by China and Russia to foster a right view of the WWII history, defend the outcomes of the victory in the war and the post-war international order, and uphold international fairness and justice serves as an important guiding force for maintaining world peace and stability.
The war that successfully ended 80 years ago was fundamentally a battle between justice and evil. It was a magnificent feat of the international community overcoming boundaries of nation, race, and ideology to unite against fascist aggression. From the Normandy landings in Europe to the Pacific theater in Asia, from the Battle of Stalingrad to China's brave resistance against Japanese invasion, and across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, countries joined forces in an unprecedented effort to defeat the Axis powers' imperial ambitions. This demonstrated the unparalleled power of multilateral cooperation in the face of global threats.
We will also never forget that the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was inseparable from the robust support of the international community. The Soviet Union's dispatch of troops to Northeast China hastened the collapse of Japanese imperialism; the US supplied China with aircraft and artillery under the Lend-Lease; and the 1943 Cairo Declaration expressly demanded that Japan return all the Chinese territories it had seized - including Taiwan. 80 years ago, the vast majority of the world's nations stood shoulder to shoulder against a common foe in pursuit of a shared ideal of peace - a fact that all humanity should remember forever.
The victory in WWII was a triumph of multilateral cooperation that transcended different systems and beliefs, overcoming fascist tyranny. This proves that the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is not the right path for human development. It laid the foundation for an international order centered on the United Nations and gave rise to a wave of national liberation and peaceful development based on equality and self-determination among all nations. Fostering a right view of WWII history is also about defending a proper view of the international order.
The construction of the postwar international system further proved that multilateralism is not a temporary strategy in the game of great powers, but a conscious choice of civilization born from immense sacrifice. As the main theater in the East during World War II, China was not only a significant contributor to the World Anti-Fascist War but also a builder and maintainer of the post-war international order. China has always advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and has played a constructive role in alleviating regional crises through active diplomatic mediation. From proposing the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind to introducing three major global initiatives, China is actively demonstrating what it means to uphold and defend a right view of WWII history. It is providing the world with a Chinese solution that transcends zero-sum games and promotes the development of the international order in a just and reasonable direction.
Standing at the crossroads of changes unseen in a century, humanity needs to learn from historical experience of WWII victory more than ever. As former German president Richard von Weizaecker said, "those who do not review history will be blind to reality." Promoting a correct understanding of World War II is inherently linked to upholding a just international order. Whether mediating regional conflicts or addressing global crises, countries must learn from history and adhere to the just principles established after the war. Only by anchoring ourselves in a correct historical perspective can humanity maintain a baseline of peace amid potential risks of de-globalization and conflict.
"Justice will prevail! Peace will prevail! The people will prevail!" These slogans were shouted by the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army during the nighttime rehearsal for the Victory Day parade on May 9 in Moscow's Red Square, eliciting waves of cheers and applause from the audience. The three declarations of "will prevail" and the warm reception of the PLA are concrete manifestations of the appreciation and support for upholding and promoting a right view of WWII history. More people standing on the side of defending the right view of WWII history and upholding post-war international fairness and justice is the best way to commemorate the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. - Global Times editorial
