By N. C. Bipindra

New Delhi: China orchestrated a coordinated disinformation campaign after India’s Operation Sindoor, seeking to discredit the Rafale fighter jet and promote its own J-35 aircraft in global markets, according to the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission’s annual report to the US Congress.

The revelation underscores Beijing’s expanding information warfare tactics and its deepening military alignment with Pakistan.

The Commission says Beijing deployed fake social media accounts to circulate AI-generated and video-game-based images presented as “debris” from Indian jets allegedly downed during the India–Pakistan clash between May 7 and 10, 2025.

The objective, it notes, was twofold: damage French defence exports and create space for Chinese platforms. The campaign reportedly went as far as influencing Indonesia to pause a committed Rafale purchase, giving China greater leverage in Southeast Asia’s military procurement landscape.

China’s role in India–Pakistan clash under scrutiny

The report highlights that Pakistan’s military leaned heavily on Chinese weaponry and “reportedly leveraged Chinese intelligence” during the confrontation.

Indian Army officials claimed China provided “live inputs” on Indian troop positions, allegedly treating the crisis as a real-world battlefield to test its own systems. Pakistan denied the allegations, while China refrained from confirming or rejecting its involvement.

Pakistan publicly claimed India lost six fighter jets, including Rafales. The Commission, however, says only three aircraft were reportedly shot down — and not all may have been Rafales — directly contradicting Islamabad’s narrative.

Expanding China–Pakistan military synergy

Beijing’s support went beyond intelligence. The report outlines intensified military collaboration through multiple joint exercises in 2024 and 2025.

These included the Warrior-VIII counterterrorism drills and China’s naval participation in Pakistan’s AMAN multilateral exercise.

For India, these developments reinforced concerns over a coordinated China–Pakistan military posture aimed at challenging its strategic dominance.

Beijing uses conflict as a marketing showcase

The clash also became a showcase for Chinese defence exports. Pakistan deployed Chinese systems — including the HQ-9 air defence shield, PL-15 air-to-air missiles and J-10 fighter jets — in active combat for the first time.

With China accounting for 82% of Pakistan’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023, Beijing moved quickly to capitalise on the visibility.

It offered Islamabad a major new package: 40 J-35 stealth fighters, KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft, and missile defence systems.

Chinese embassies worldwide then amplified Pakistan’s exaggerated claims of shooting down Indian Rafales, using them as promotional material for global arms sales.

But the US report sharply counters these claims, stating only three Indian jets were lost, with no evidence that Rafales were among them.

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