BEIJING - CHINA'S air force is celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend with an aerial show and skydiving exhibition, the country's third major military display this year.

Sunday's event is intended to underscore the rapid modernization of the People's Liberation Army Air Force as hundreds of antiquated MIG fighters are mothballed and replaced by state-of-the-art combat aircraft.

Beijing insists such displays are intended only to boost public pride and confidence in the armed forces, although they have also renewed concern abroad about the ultimate aims of China's military expansion.

The show 'underscores the rise in the country's comprehensive national power and the firm material and technological foundation provided for air force modernization,' air force commander General Xu Qiliang told the PLA Daily newspaper in an interview published this week.

China earlier this year held an international ship review to celebrate the Navy's 60th anniversary, along with the massive Oct 1 National Day military parade featuring hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles.

China's air force and navy have been prime beneficiaries of huge defense spending increases as the primarily land-based, defensively oriented military boosts its ability to project force far from the nation's borders. Tanker planes, AWACS and other support aircraft have been added to extend the reach and effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army Air Force's advanced Russian Sukhoi and domestically developed J-10 fighters. -- AP