Taiwan stands up to China with military parade to underline its role against Japanese in WWII

Taiwan's military starts its massive parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, with cannon salutes at the military base in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, Saturday, July 4, 2015. Taiwan marched out thousands of troops and displayed its most modern military hardware Saturday to spotlight an old but often forgotten claim that its forces, not the Chinese Communists, led the campaign that routed imperial Japan from China 70 years ago. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) (The Associated Press)

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Spectators wave the national flag as they wait for the start of a massive parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, at the military base in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, Saturday, July 4, 2015. Taiwan marched out thousands of troops and displayed its most modern military hardware Saturday to spotlight an old but often forgotten claim that its forces, not the Chinese Communists, led the campaign that routed imperial Japan from China 70 years ago. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) (The Associated Press)

A young spectator waves the national flags as they wait for the start of a massive parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, at the military base in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, Saturday, July 4, 2015. Taiwan marched out thousands of troops and displayed its most modern military hardware Saturday to spotlight an old but often forgotten claim that its forces, not the Chinese Communists, led the campaign that routed imperial Japan from China 70 years ago. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) (The Associated Press)

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan has marched out thousands of troops in a parade to spotlight an old but often forgotten claim that its forces and not the Communists who took over China routed the Japanese in World War II.

China and Taiwan split during civil war in 1949 and today's China — more militarily and economically powerful than Taiwan — says the Communists had directed the resistance against the Japanese.

The two-hour parade held Saturday included missiles, Apache attack helicopters and a mountain bike team for stealth missions.

Taiwan's Nationalist Party, which ruled all of China when Japan invaded parts of the country starting in 1931, says Communist forces had only a minor role in fighting the Japanese alongside the Republic of China troops.