Top Southeast Asian leaders are expected to attend China’s military parade next month to commemorate the end of World War II, in what would be a show of Beijing’s growing influence in the region.
Many countries are said to be sending more senior delegations than they did a decade ago, when the first such parade was held.
According to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will likely attend the parade, set to be held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3.
They said Vietnam was likely to send its president, Luong Cuong, the country’s No 2 official.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said leaders from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar were expected to first attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin before heading to Beijing for the parade.
