China 'deployed' embassies to undermine Rafale: French intel
Findings from a French intelligence service seen by Associated Press say defence attaches in China's foreign embassies led a charge to undermine Rafale sales, seeking to persuade countries that have already ordered the French-made fighter - notably Indonesia - not to buy more and to encourage other potential buyers to choose Chinese-made planes. The findings were shared with AP by a French military official .
Four days of India-Pakistan clashes in May were the most serious confrontation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, and included air combat that involved dozens of aircraft from both sides.
Military officials and researchers have since been digging for details of how Pakistan's Chinese-made military hardware - particularly warplanes and air-combat missiles - fared against weaponry that India used in airstrikes on Pakistani targets, notably French-made Rafale fighters.
Sales of Rafales and other armaments are big business for France's defence industry and help efforts by govt in Paris to strengthen ties with other nations, including in Asia where China is becoming the dominant regional power.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Mucus in Lungs? Do This if You Feel Breathlessness
Neuracare
Learn More
Undo
Pakistan claimed its air force downed five Indian planes during the fighting, including three Rafales. French officials say that prompted questions about their performance from countries that have bought the fighter from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
India acknowledged aircraft losses but didn't say how many. French air force chief Gen Jerome Bellanger said that he's seen evidence pointing to just 3 Indian losses - a Rafale, a Russian-made Sukhoi and a Mirage 2000.
It was the first known combat loss of a Rafale. French officials have been battling to protect the plane from reputational damage, pushing back against what they allege was a concerted campaign of Rafale-bashing and disinformation online from Pakistan and its ally China. They say the campaign included viral posts on social media, manipulated imagery showing supposed Rafale debris, AI-generated content and video-game depictions to simulate supposed combat.
French military officials say they haven't been able to link the online Rafale-bashing directly to Chinese govt.
But the French intelligence service said Chinese embassy defence attaches echoed the same narrative in meetings they held with security and defence officials from other countries, arguing that IAFRafales performed poorly and promoting Chinese-made weaponry.
Asked by AP to comment on the alleged effort to dent Rafale's appeal, ministry of national defence in Beijing said: "The relevant claims are pure groundless rumours. China has consistently maintained a prudent approach to military exports, playing a constructive role in regional and global peace and stability." AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
14 minutes ago
- First Post
Why Tibet & Dalai Lama make China nervous?
Even as the Dalai Lama has called for a 'middle way' approach, the Communist Party of China (CPC) cannot come to terms with the idea of co-existing with Tibetans as its totalitarian ethno-nationalist state has no room for a non-Han group or leader — and certainly not for someone like the Dalai Lama whom his followers revere like a god. read more Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama speaks in a video broadcast at the start of the 15th Tibetan Religious Conference, a meeting of religious leaders in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala on July 2, 2025. (Photo: Sanjay Baid/AFP) Even as the Dalai Lama has given up the demand of Tibet's independence and has called for a 'middle way' approach, China has rejected it and has continued to call the 90-year-old leader as a 'separatist'. China has made it clear that there will not be any compromise. Under the middle way approach, the Dalai Lama has sought genuine autonomy for Tibet within the Chinese state wherein Tibetans would have rights for the management of religious, cultural, educational, linguistic, health, and environmental affairs and China would be in charge of foreign relations and defence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China has rejected the approach and said it calls for 'splitting China' and has accused the Dalai Lama of seeking a 'semi-independent political regime' or a 'state within a state' within China under the guise of autonomy. The real reason, however, is that an autonomous Tibet, is incompatible with Communist China's ethos. The subjugation of Tibet has been a must for the Communist Party (CPC) and any cordial co-existence has been off the table since the very beginning, according to Prof. Tej Pratap Singh, a scholar of China at the Department of Political Science at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Indeed, one of the first things that the CPC leader Mao Zedong did after establishing the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 was to order the invasion of Tibet. The fact that Chinese began the invasion of Tibet even as Tibetan negotiators were holding talks with the Chinese envoy, General Yuan Zhongxian, in Delhi shows that talks were a ruse and the invasion was decided from the beginning. 'The People's Republic of China is an ethno-nationalist state of the Han people and the Communist Party has no tolerance for any other ethnic group having a province of their own and that too an autonomous province like Tibet. Moreover, China wanted to control Tibet to lay claims to Indian territories. So, the subjugation of Tibet and the erasure of Tibetan identity have been enshrined in the foundations of Communist China,' says Singh. Indeed, China's claims on India's Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh are rooted in its claim on Tibet. China has said that Ladakh and Arunachal are parts of Tibet, and as it claims to be a part of China, it also claims these Indian regions to be a part of China. Totalitarian China has no room for non-Han people Even though China claims to be a multi-ethnic, atheist state, it is a totalitarian ethno-nationalist state of the Han people. It's not just that the vast majority of Chinese people —91 per cent— are Han, all Chinese leaders from Mao to Xi Jinping have been Han. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD By definition, an ethno-nationalist state is one in which national identity is defined by shared ethnicity. Formally, China considers 56 ethnic groups as part of China, but that is a farce as China's policies lay bare that it is a Han ethno-nationalist state and everyone has to comply to the Han way of life. For example, China has made it clear that all religious groups and institutions in the country, whether Buddhists in Tibet or Muslims in Xinjiang, have to incorporate 'Chinese characteristics' in the practice of their religious. For Muslims, China has even gone to the length of demolishing traditional mosques and getting them rebuilt as per the architecture of the Han people. Similarly, China has set up internment camps and put hundreds of thousands of Muslims in those camps to be taught the Han way of life — China calls them 'reeducation camps'. For Tibetan Buddhists, China has denied them the right to recognise their leader, the Dalai Lama, and has said it will appoint the next Dalai Lama. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 'Chinese' national identity is essentially Han identity and every ethnic group, whether Tibetan Buddhists or Uyghur Muslims, have to mould themselves as per the Han way of life, says Singh, the China scholar at BHU. Scholars have described the imposition of Han way of life on other groups inside China in the name of Sinicization as 'internal colonialism' where regions of non-Han people like Tibet and Xinjiang have been converted into Han colonies. No room for Tibet & Dalai Lama in China As China is an ethno-nationalist state of Han people, a Chinese leader can never tolerate someone like the Dalai Lama — even if he offers concessions like ceding the demand for independence for autonomy within the People's Republic. 'The Dalai Lama is a symbol of Tibetan Buddhists and a reminder that Tibet had remained out of China's active control for centuries. China can never allow the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet and can never allow an autonomous Tibet to coexist with China as that would give prominence to a non-Han people and their leader. That's why China is committed to not just subjugating Tibet but keeping the Dalai Lama out of Tibet and erasing the Tibetan identity with the destruction of monasteries, replacement of Tibetan language with Mandarin, and the break-up of the Tibet province,' says Singh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Historically, Tibet comprised three provinces of U-Tsang in central Tibet that included Lhasa and was the spiritual centre, eastern province of Kham, and northeastern region of Amdo that had many monasteries. China broke large parts of Kham and merged them into Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and parts of Amdo were incorporated into Qinghai and Gansu. Currently, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is less than half of the size of the pre-1950 Tibet. Singh says that China wants to name the next Dalai Lama as the one it would support would toe its line and lead its Sinicisation efforts. 'On the other hand, a successor recognised by Tibetans in exile, as the Dalai Lama announced last week, is bound to be anti-China and is bound to deny legitimacy to the Chinese rule in Tibet and any territorial claims on Indian land that arise from Chinese rule. That would be unacceptable to China,' says Singh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
17 minutes ago
- First Post
Is Xi Jinping's dream of being China's 'president for life' unravelling?
After over a decade of unchallenged authority, Xi Jinping is showing signs of stepping back. From skipping key summits like Brics in Brazil to quietly redistributing the Chinese Communist Party control, China's most dominant leader since Mao may be preparing for a shift. Is the era of Xi as 'president for life' beginning to fade as the 2027 Party Congress approaches? read more Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives at the Kremlin to attend a festive concert, held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia, May 8, 2025. File Image/RIA Novosti via Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping is beginning to relinquish some of his long-held control over the operations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For the first time in his leadership, key responsibilities are being passed down to Party institutions and senior colleagues, a move that experts see as significant given Xi's history of centralising power. In late June, the Politburo — China's core political decision-making body — examined a new framework regulating Party-affiliated organs. These bodies, known as central commissions and leading groups, have played a growing role in Chinese governance throughout Xi's tenure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to Xinhua, these groups are expected to focus on 'planning, discussing and checking on major matters.' This redefinition of duties aims to strengthen coordination across Party institutions, which have increasingly taken on functions that were once the domain of state agencies. Most of these organisations were either created or given expanded authority under Xi, especially in sensitive sectors such as finance, science and technology, cybersecurity and national security. Some of these entities have already begun operating under the leadership of figures other than Xi, including Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, and Cai Qi, Xi's chief of staff. CCP devolves under Xi Jinping Over the last decade, the CCP has overhauled several state functions by transferring authority to Party-led mechanisms. During Xi's rule, the creation or elevation of 'leading small groups' into 'central commissions' has become a recurring strategy to assert direct Party oversight. This transformation has affected multiple policy areas, including economic reform, religious affairs, and overseas Chinese relations. A notable example is the transformation of the group overseeing Hong Kong and Macau. Initially a modest entity, it was upgraded to a Party commission in 2020 and took control from the previously dominant State Council-based office. Similar structural changes were implemented in 2023, where commissions on finance and science were placed under Li Qiang and Ding Xuexiang, respectively. The cyberspace commission, a critical agency for China's internet governance and data regulation, is now chaired by Cai Qi. Xi's muted visibility Xi Jinping's recent absences from major international events have also drawn attention. For the first time since assuming the presidency, he did not attend the Brics summit, held this year in Rio de Janeiro. Chinese Premier Li Qiang led the Chinese delegation. This followed a similar pattern in 2023, when Xi skipped the G20 summit in India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Between May 21 and June 5, Xi did not appear in public for 14 consecutive days. This unusually long silence, uncharacteristic for the Chinese president, added to questions about shifts in his leadership style. Additionally, a new Revolutionary Memorial Hall opened in Shaanxi Province was not named after Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, despite expectations to the contrary. Xi Zhongxun was a senior figure in the Party, and the absence of his name from the hall stood out amid Xi Jinping's otherwise consistent emphasis on his revolutionary lineage. Xi Jinping, China's 'president for life' Xi Jinping's current authority stems from a series of institutional reforms and leadership consolidations that began when he assumed power in 2012. He rapidly ascended through the ranks, simultaneously holding the top three positions in China's political structure: General Secretary of the Communist Party, President of the country, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Soon after taking office, Xi launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that penalised over a million Party members and removed several high-ranking military officers. This effort bolstered his standing as an uncompromising reformer and helped dismantle potential opposition. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During his second term, Xi's political clout was further cemented when he was formally designated as the 'core leader' of the CCP — a title previously reserved for Mao Zedong. In 2018, the National People's Congress approved a constitutional amendment eliminating the two-term limit for the presidency. This cleared the way for Xi to pursue a third term, which he secured in 2022 as General Secretary, followed by re-election as president in 2023. With this shift, Xi diverged from all his predecessors, who voluntarily stepped down after two five-year terms. His continuation in office without term limits earned him the unofficial title of 'President for Life.' Headwinds challenging Xi's power Despite his ironclad hold on power, Xi's tenure has not been without controversy or crisis. His handling of the Covid-19 pandemic faced widespread criticism, both domestically and internationally. When the virus emerged in late 2019, doctors who first raised alarms were detained, and Xi remained silent publicly until January 20, 2020, despite being briefed on the outbreak on January 7. This delay is widely viewed as a lost opportunity to contain the virus early. The subsequent enforcement of the 'zero-Covid' policy involved mass lockdowns, forced quarantines and extensive travel restrictions. Though initially hailed as a success, the policy eventually crippled China's economy and triggered rare public demonstrations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Its sudden reversal in December 2022 left millions un-vaccinated, particularly the elderly and raised questions about planning and transparency. By July 2022, only 51 per cent of citizens over the age of 80 had received a single vaccine dose, compared to 93 per cent in Japan. Economic challenges have also heated up. When Xi first came to power, China's GDP grew at 7.8 per cent in 2013, already slower than previous years. Since then, growth has steadily declined. Promises to double the size of the economy by 2035 remain far off-track amid a slowing property sector, declining exports and regulatory crackdowns on private enterprises. In foreign policy, Xi's assertive posture has alienated several regional neighbours. China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, under the so-called 'nine-dash line,' have escalated tensions with countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, pushing them closer to the United States — an outcome contrary to Beijing's strategic objectives. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dissent within the top ranks Xi's leadership has also seen repeated purges of top-level officials, indicating an undercurrent of instability within the CCP's upper echelons. In 2023 alone, Defence Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu were removed from office. That same year, Foreign Minister Qin Gang — formerly ambassador to the US and a fluent English speaker — disappeared from public view just months into his role. While Wei and Li were reportedly ousted over corruption charges, no explanation has been offered for Qin's removal. The expulsion of Admiral Miao Hua from the Central Military Commission — the apex command structure of China's armed forces — further suggests discord within the military leadership. These developments, though rarely acknowledged in state media, hint at fractures inside the tightly guarded corridors of Chinese power. Although Xi continues to dominate headlines — appearing on the front page of People's Daily 157 times between April and June 2025 — there are clear signs that the monolithic image of his rule is being tested. What next ahead of CCP's National Congress in 2027? Xi Jinping turned 72 in June this year. The next significant milestone in China's political calendar is the 21st National Congress of the Communist Party, scheduled for 2027. That event will mark the end of Xi's third term as General Secretary and could provide clarity on whether he plans to remain at the helm or initiate a phased handover of responsibilities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although some analysts have suggested that recent developments could indicate preparations for succession, others note that no apparent successor has been identified. Unlike previous leaders, Xi did not promote a designated heir at the end of his first term in 2017 and has refrained from doing so since. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
BJP launches three-day training camp in Chhattisgarh's Manpat; senior national leaders to participate; tribal outreach, governance in focus
BJP has initiated a three-day leadership training camp in Manpat, Chhattisgarh RAIPUR: In an initiative to bridge tribal outreach and bolster local governance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kicked off a three-day leadership training camp on Monday in Manpat, popularly referred to as 'Chhattisgarh's Shimla.' The high-profile event, led by BJP national president J P Nadda , is expected to conclude with a valedictory address by Union Home Minister Amit Shah . The camp has drawn several senior leaders from both state and national levels, including chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai, deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma, ten state ministers, 44 MLAs, and ten BJP MPs. CM Sai, deputy CM Sharma, MP Brijmohan Agrawal and MLA Sunil Soni arrived in Ambikapur by the Durg–Ambikapur Express on Sunday night and were escorted to Manpat by convoy on Monday morning. Nadda is scheduled to land at Darima's Maa Mahamaya Airport via a special aircraft and will travel to Manpat by helicopter. Organisers stated that the camp is exclusively intended for lawmakers and MPs and focuses on professional training related to governance, policy outreach, and public engagement. Speaking at the event, CM Sai said the training will include 12 thematic sessions delivered by national experts, including Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and B L Santosh. He added that the initiative would open 'new dimensions of development' for Chhattisgarh. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 이렇게 생겼는데 말소리도 또렷이 들려주는 보청기, 무료로 체험 가능 히어닷컴 Undo Local Touch and Camp Activities The camp also embraces local culture and cuisine, serving regional dishes such as 'lakda flower chutney' and millet-based meals, in support of the 'vocal for local' campaign. The daily programme includes yoga sessions in the scenic surroundings, healthy breakfasts, interactive training modules, cultural evenings, and visits to local sites such as the Tibetan temple. Political Context and Reactions Manpat, located in the Sarguja district—a region historically affected by Maoist activity and predominantly inhabited by tribal communities—has been strategically chosen as the venue. State Finance Minister O P Chaudhary noted that such events highlight local identity and promote cultural recognition. However, Congress state communications chief Sushil Anand Shukla criticised the camp, calling it 'political tourism.' He alleged that the purpose of the event is to teach leaders 'how to use corrupt funds without getting caught.'
