Why Pakistan-fired PL-15E missile's debris in India is China's worry
On the intervening night of May 6-7, India and Pakistan engaged in a high-stakes aerial stand-off, a non-conventional confrontation wherein neither side crossed the other's airspace. This clash, sparked by escalating tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, saw both nations deploy advanced fighter jets and missiles in a display of military prowess.India, under Operation Sindoor, fielded over four squadrons of its air force, including Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29 and Mirage 2000 jets, armed with BrahMos and SCALP-EG cruise missiles, AASM Hammer guided bombs for ground strikes, and Meteor missiles for air-to-air combat.advertisementPakistan countered with more than 40 jets, including the US-supplied F-16 Vipers and Chinese J-10C and JF-17 Thunder fighters, firing PL-15E air-to-air missiles acquired from China and Fatah-II rockets at Indian facilities.It is clear now how China cast a long shadow over the conflict. Indian military officials have accused Beijing of bolstering Pakistan with air defence and satellite systems, which apparently fell short in performance against the Indian aerial offensive.
Amidst the three days of intense missile and drone exchanges between India and Pakistan, debris from a Chinese PL-15E missile, launched by a J-10C or JF-17 jet of the Pakistan air force, was found near Kamahi Devi village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district.Significant portions of the missile, including its propulsion, data-link, inertial unit and advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) seeker, were found to be intact. The debris find has drawn global attention, with the Five Eyes alliance (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), Japan and South Korea having requested access to study its dual-pulse motor and AESA technology. This reflects global concerns about China's advancing military technology.advertisementIndian defence scientists now possess this debris, leading to speculation about potential reverse-engineering to bolster India's own beyond-visual-range missile programmes, such as the upgraded Astra missile, and to probably rule out technical glitches in its development.Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang, during a briefing on May 29, sidestepped questions about the efficacy of these systems, instead urging India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. 'India and Pakistan are neighbours who cannot be moved. We hope both sides will remain calm to avoid further complicating the situation,' he said, adding that China was willing to play a constructive role in regional stability.Zhang acknowledged the PL-15E's use—for the first time by China in the conflict—noting it as an exported weapon showcased at multiple defence exhibitions, including the Zhuhai air show in November 2024. Developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the PL-15E is a long-range, active radar-guided air-to-air missile. The recovery of its debris in India has sparked concerns in Beijing about technological leaks.Pakistan's military arsenal heavily relies on Chinese equipment, with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reporting that 81 per cent of its arms imports in 2020-24 came from China, up from 74 per cent in 2015-19. This includes over half of Pakistan's 400-plus fighter jets, notably the JF-17 and J-10C, alongside systems such as the HQ-9 air defence and PL-15E missile.advertisementSocial media posts have pegged this figure at as high as 82 per cent for 2019-23, underscoring Pakistan's dependence on Chinese arms, including co-developed platforms such as the JF-17. Reports also suggest China rushed additional PL-15E missile deliveries to Pakistan at the peak of tensions with India, highlighting Beijing's strategic support to its ally.As the debris of PL-15E offers India a rare opportunity to study cutting-edge Chinese technology, the incident also points to the complex interplay of regional rivalries and global arms dynamics. While India's defence research community may gain insights to refine its missile technology, a broader question remains: will this clash, marked by advanced weaponry and restrained borders, lead to de-escalation or further fuel South Asia's volatile fault lines?Subscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
J&K LG Manoj Sinha sacks 3 govt employees, including police constable, allegedly working for terrorist groups
J&K LG Manoj Sinha (ANI/File photo) NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday sacked three government employees, including a police constable, who were allegedly working for terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul-Mujahideen. The accused have been identified as Malik Ishfaq Naseer, the police constable; Ajaz Ahmed, a teacher in the school education department; and Waseem Ahmad Khan, a junior assistant in Government Medical College, Srinagar. — ANI (@ANI) The three are being dismissed with immediate effect, the General Administration Department of the Jammu and Kashmir government said. Between August 2020, when he took office, and 2024, Sinha terminated more than 70 overground workers/terror associates from government jobs under the Constitution of India. The fresh dismissals, meanwhile, come more than a month after the devastating Pahalgam terrorist attack in the Union territory. On April 22, Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 men, including 25 tourists and a local in Pahalgam's Baisaran valley. India responded with Operation Sindoor, under which it hit terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in the early hours of May 7. This triggered a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals. On May 10, Islamabad reached out to New Delhi requesting cessation of hostilities, resulting in a ceasefire being announced. (With ANI inputs)
Economic Times
35 minutes ago
- Economic Times
India a top growth market but still underowned globally: Matt Orton
Agencies Trump was elected talking about 10-15% tariffs, that is essentially where we have settled right now in the US. "There are a lot of companies who are actively involved in this, but L&T is one of the names I have been looking at deeper, just given an incredibly clean balance sheet, but they have not only exposure to Indian infrastructure but also infrastructure in the GCC where there is a tremendous amount of capex and development and hydrocarbons, ports, all of that. So that is a really-really interesting play right now," says Matt Orton, Raymond James Investment. What brings you to India? Matt Orton: So, I am here for an investor conference with Bank of America. So, as we have talked a lot about India being one of my favourite regions. So, there is a lot of interesting companies that we look at, invest in, and so being able to speak with management teams in person, ask a lot of the questions you need, finding new ideas, I think that is all a critical part of the investment process. And so, it is wonderful to be able to do that in person and then share and talk about ideas with other investors as well. Is it your first India trip? Matt Orton: So, this is my second time in Mumbai. When was the last one? Matt Orton: Last year. So, I was here for the elections which was quite an exciting time to be here. But I bet visibly you must have seen a lot of infra development. I mean, that is something that you cannot miss if you visit Mumbai even a year after. Any infra companies which are part of your portfolio or you are scouting for? Matt Orton: Absolutely. So, the infrastructure story is incredibly exciting. You come here and see the coastal highway between last year and this year just the tunnel being opened, being able to get from where we are in South Mumbai over to here this morning, it is amazing. So, there are a lot of companies who are actively involved in this, but L&T is one of the names I have been looking at deeper, just given an incredibly clean balance sheet, but they have not only exposure to Indian infrastructure but also infrastructure in the GCC where there is a tremendous amount of capex and development and hydrocarbons, ports, all of that. So that is a really-really interesting play right now. We had Ridham Desai from Morgan Stanley before you came in and he is like okay India everybody knows, everybody loves, but hardly anybody owns it. Is that true from a global perspective that India is a great market to go, but in terms of commitment levels they are minuscule?Matt Orton: It is true. There is a couple of things that are at play. India is a more challenging market to invest in as an overseas investor. You have to be very committed to open up trading licenses. There is definitely passive ways you can play it by some of the ETFs, but there are not as many active options. So, I think as an investor, that is what makes it more exciting because you do not have a tonne of foreign flows going into these companies, there is more room for these ideas to play out. But in conversations with clients, especially as clients are finally starting to look overseas as opposed to the US being the only option as you see good returns coming from the rest of the world, there is a very real openness to finding new markets and other long-term growth opportunities. And so, India is certainly one that is very exciting and is a standout relative to say Europe where there is some very-very interesting opportunities there, but there is not the same growth story. We are looking at the fourth largest economy, soon to be third largest economy in the world, that is a tremendous pool of really-really compelling investments. So, for the long term, you have such growth with the market that I would argue is still underpenetrated from an investment perspective. So, country-wise, which is your largest exposure or region? Matt Orton: So, the US is my largest region right now. I think that the earning story continues to play out. The US market continues to scale this wall of worry. It has been one of the most hated rallies I can remember. But when you look at the fundamentals, the fundamentals are working. Corporate America is working. A lot of the long-term secular growth themes like artificial intelligence, changes to consumer habits, those are all compelling ideas where you are seeing compounding returns in the US. But you look to a market like India as well, a lot of those same themes are playing out and they are embedded even in stories of financial companies, auto companies. So, there is a lot of ways you can play this and that is what I try and do is find these long-term growth themes and how does that fit into different companies around the world. But you do not think there would be a tariff hit back and that is going to stall the growth in US? Matt Orton: So, tariffs are going to hit growth in some way shape or form but a lot of that is already baked into the market. So, you had that vicious selloff after Liberation Day in the US and investors realise that is certainly the ceiling to where tariffs go. Trump was elected talking about 10-15% tariffs, that is essentially where we have settled right now in the US. So, there is going to be ups and downs as we negotiate these trade deals. But hopefully, as you start to see some of them come to the table and you get through that volatility, the market will have recalibrated by that point and it will become fundamentally driven again and we saw what that could look like during earning season.
Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Should Indian-origin fans in Australia support India or Australia? Cricket Australia CEO answers the Tebbit Test and wants Kohli to play BBL
As witnessed during the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cricket Australia has been actively marketing their product to the Indian and Asian communities who live in Australia but what is its new CEO Todd Greenberg's views on whether the second and third generation Asian-origin fans should support Australia or still clamour for their country of origin? Or in other words, what's CA's take on the old 'Tebbit Test' from the 90's in England. Norman Tebbit, a member of the Conservative party and considered the then UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher's blue-eyed boy, had devised a provocative test: 'A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test. Which side do they cheer for? Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?' It came to be known as the Tebbit Test, a test of loyalty of British Asians, and created a huge furore whose ramifications are felt to this day. Greenberg has no confusion about the answer to that test. 'It's an interesting one because I think if you're second, third, fourth, fifth generation, wherever you come from, if that's the team that you support, we should encourage you to support that because, ultimately, everyone must come from somewhere, and we should all be really proud of where we come from. And in a country like Australia, with our beautiful multicultural base, we should all be very proud of the different styles, people, genders, races, and religions, and where people come from. And if people choose to support where they came from, we should encourage that,' the CA CEO told reporters on June 3. 'Equally, if someone's been here and is the next third generation and wants to support the country of which they live, we should be equally supportive of that as well, but we shouldn't judge people on the decisions we make. We should only make them feel included, proud, and a part of the sport. And that's the most important part. Cricket must be a sport for all that's inclusive, and people should feel safe, and they should feel welcome to barrack for whoever and whatever they like. And we should support their choice.' Later this year, India are set to tour Australia for a one-day series and the CEO reckons it would be great for fans to see Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for one last time possibly in Australia. 'This might be the last time that we get to see Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma play in our country. And if that is the case, who knows it might not be, but if it is, we wanna make sure we give them a great send off and a reflection of the incredible contribution they've made to international cricket. During Covid pandemic in 2020, it was reported that Cricket Australia had to take a loan of A$300 million from Commonwealth Bank. The Indian series in 2021 helped the Australian board. And in October last year, they announced a deficit of A$31.9 million ($21.34m). The last 2024-25 series against India in Australia further boosted the finances of the CA. Greenberg acknowledged India's role. 'With the billions of people in India, it brings scale and global significance to the touring events when they come that's evidenced by the crowds, it's evidenced by the ratings, and it's evidenced by the imagination that it captures both here and abroad. So India are a very important partner, and I get a sense that, and it was before my time, but, you know, those efforts through COVID create relationships between our two countries, between the leadership of our countries to make sure that we are playing each other regularly both here and abroad. When our team tour is India, we know the numbers in their broadcast markets are enormous as well. So they're a very important partner of ours.' Tapping the large Indian and Asian-origin fans who live in Australia is one thing, but what about providing the pathway for young Asian-origin kids to play for Australia. Is Australia open enough to do that? 'I agree we've still got a lot of work to do, and, we would like to be attracting more of those communities to be playing cricket, but part of that challenge is on us in how we offer participation. I think our participation offerings in this country are very traditional, and they have historically been offered in the same way to the same types of people over generations. And if we're going to attract a new generation of participants, then we need to do things differently. We need to think differently. We need to communicate differently, and we need to make sure that the clubs and our environments are both safe and welcoming and inclusive,' Greenberg says. And I know our participation network and the leads of our participation base here in this country are thinking about those things as we speak, and they're trying to make sure that we have a welcoming and offering that will allow everyone to feel welcome to come and play cricket, whether you're a boy, girl, male or female, Indian, Pakistani, wherever you're from, that there's an opportunity for you to play. So I think there's a real opportunity for us to do better in that regard.' CA also is holding out hope that the BCCI will one day allow Indian players to feature in Australia's T20 competition BBL. 'That's certainly some conversations that we will continue to have with the BCCI. I mean, I would love to see, Virat Kohli playing in the BBL this year. That would certainly create some interest in crowds and ratings, I'm sure. But at the moment, that's not happening, but we do have our ambitions to do those types of things. And as you're seeing all over the world, t 20 leagues are going down a lot of the private investment opportunities. We're seeing that in England recently with the hundred. A number of the IPL franchises are now taking ownership stakes in the hundred. We've got to continue to evolve and innovate the way we run our business here in Australia and making sure that we have an open mind to new things. But the short answer to that question is if we could find opportunities for Indian cricketers, either retired, recently retired, or current players to play in the BBL, they'd be very welcome, and it's a conversation we'll continue to have,' Greenberg said.
