Photo: Magdalena Chodownik/Anadolu/AFP
Eurasia
02/09/2025 16:12
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hanoi on Tuesday to witness a massive military parade marking 80 years since then-president Ho Chi Minh proclaimed independence.
Tanks, missile launchers, amphibious vehicles and other hardware rolled past stands at Ba Dinh Square, where the revolutionary leader declared independence from French colonial rule on September 2, 1945.
Borrowing the language of the American Declaration of Independence from 1776, Ho Chi Minh declared that "all men are created equal" before announcing the nation should throw off the yoke of French colonialism.
However, less than two months later, the French returned to Vietnam and fought the 12-year-long First Indochina War before the country was divided into South and North Vietnam in 1954.
About 40,000 people took part in the Tuesday parade, including 24,000 civilians and 16,000 officers, who marched in formation alongside displays of fighter jets, helicopters, warships and submarines.
Delegations from Russia, China, Laos, Cambodia and Belarus attended. Several European states declined invitations, with diplomats citing concerns over appearing at an event featuring Russian troops while Moscow's conflict with Kiev continues.
In the days leading up to the anniversary, Hanoi's streets were lined with banners featuring the crimson national flag and the hammer-and-sickle emblem of the Communist Party, while many residents wore red T-shirts emblazoned with the Vietnamese flag.
Vietnam, once among the world's poorest nations, has transformed into one of the world's fastest-growing economies, producing electronics, textiles and agricultural goods such as coffee and rice. The country has become a key manufacturing base.
