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Sinar Daily
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sinar Daily
Chinese weapons get rare battle test in India-Pakistan fighting
SHANGHAI - Just over a week after a ceasefire with India was struck, Pakistan's foreign minister is visiting his country's largest arms supplier, China, with the performance of the weapons they supplied a matter of burning interest for analysts and governments alike. The most striking claim from four days of fighting earlier this month was Islamabad's contention its Chinese-supplied jets had shot down six Indian aircraft -- including three French-made Rafale fighters -- with some observers seeing this as a symbol of Beijing's rising military might. Indian army soldiers operate an artillery gun near the Line of Control (LoC) in India's Kashmir region on May 19, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) Experts cautioned that a lack of confirmed information and the limited scope of fighting made it difficult to draw solid conclusions about the Chinese equipment's prowess. Still, "this was a rare opportunity for the international community to gauge Chinese military hardware on the battlefield against Western (Indian) hardware", said Lyle Morris from the Asia Society Policy Institute. While China pours hundreds of billions of dollars into defence spending each year, it lags far behind the United States as an arms exporter. China's drones are used in counter-terrorism operations, and its weapons have been deployed by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and against rebel forces in African countries, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) senior researcher Siemon Wezeman told AFP. "But this is the first time since the 1980s that a state has used large numbers of Chinese weapons of many types in action against another state," said Wezeman, referencing the Iran-Iraq war when they were used on both sides. 'Primary option' Pakistan accounts for around 63 per cent of China's arms exports, according to SIPRI. In the recent fighting, Pakistan used the J10-C Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder planes, armed with air-to-air missiles. It was the first time the J10-C has been used in active combat, said the Stimson Center's Yun Sun. Islamabad's air defences also used Chinese kit -- including the HQ-9P long-range surface-to-air missile system -- and deployed Chinese radar as well as armed and reconnaissance drones. "This was the first sustained fight where the bulk of Pakistan's forces used Chinese weapons and, basically, relied on them as their primary option," said Bilal Khan, founder of the Toronto-based Quwa Defence News & Analysis Group. India has not officially confirmed any of its aircraft were lost, although a senior security source told AFP three jets had crashed on home soil without giving the make or cause. Rafale maker Dassault has also not commented. An Indian army soldier carrying a rocket launcher is pictured near the Line of Control (LoC) in India's Kashmir region on May 19, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) The Rafale is considered one of Europe's most high-tech jets, while the J10-C "is not even China's most advanced", said James Char from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. But if Pakistan's claims are true, "this should not be surprising... considering that the Rafale is a multirole fighter, whereas the J-10C was built for aerial combat and is also equipped with a stronger radar," Char said. The Chinese air-defence systems, however, "do not appear to have been as effective as the Pakistan Air Force would have hoped", said Quwa's Khan, after India said it had neutralised one near the eastern border city of Lahore. If true, said SIPRI's Wezeman, that "would be a bigger success and more than balance the loss of some aircraft in the process". 'Significant reorientation' In the days after the dogfight reports, J10-C maker Chengdu Aircraft Company's stock soared over forty per cent. "We most likely will see more orders going to Chinese contractors," said the Stimson Center's Sun. However, "it will take time and significant reorientation by Chinese arms manufacturers for the country to be a big arms exporter", said Jennifer Kavanagh from the US think tank Defense Priorities. She noted that China "cannot mass-produce certain key inputs, including aircraft engines". Wezeman said he thought the stock markets "overreacted", as "we still have to see how well all the weapons used worked and if it really means much". Even if more data emerges, the conflict still does not reveal much about the Chinese military's own capabilities, the analysts said. China's own systems and weapons are much more advanced than what it exports. And while having high-tech hardware is important, "much more important is how those weapons are used", said Kavanagh. Brian Hart of CSIS said he would caution against "reading too much" into recent developments. "I don't think you can make direct comparisons to how these Chinese-made systems would fare in different environments against more advanced adversaries like the United States," he explained. "Since the number of data points is small and since we don't know much about the proficiency and training of the personnel on either side, it is hard to draw definitive conclusions." - AFP
The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Truth remains the first casualty in India-Pakistan conflict
Propaganda from both sides obscures facts in the India-Pakistan air battle, raising global concern over Chinese weapons' effectiveness. Indian soldiers sit inside a vehicle in Wuyan near Indian-administered Kashmir's main city of Srinagar after a loud explosion was heard on May 7, 2025. The death toll from Indian strikes on Pakistan has increased to eight, the country's military spokesman said on May 7, as India fired missiles at Pakistani territory and Islamabad vowed to 'settle the score'. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) In war, truth is the first casualty. That's a saying attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy. And nowhere is that more true than in the current conflict between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, which is split between both countries. When it comes to fiercely nationalistic propaganda, which puts facts in a distant second place to opinion, the military and the media in India and Pakistan are as bad as each other. That is why it is so difficult to make head or tail of the events of last week and, specifically, the major air battle which took place in Kashmir and which is claimed to have been the biggest of its kind since World War II. Each side claimed victory and to have shot down fighter aircraft belonging to the enemy, while the Indians also crowed about heavy damage to Pakistani military installations. Why the battle is being looked at so closely – especially by the military and experts in the West – is that it is being seen as a weapons proving ground. ALSO READ: India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after days of attacks The most pertinent question being asked is: how effective were the Chinese-supplied weapons systems in the hands of the Pakistanis? Islamabad claimed it had shot down a number of French-made Dassault Rafale multirole fighters from the Indian Air Force – a claimed denied by Delhi. However, photographs taken of the wreckage of at least one aircraft which went down in Indian territory indicate it could be from a Rafale. Why this is important is because, on the Pakistani side, much of the upgrades of its air defence system have been with Chinese-supplied aircraft, missiles and electronic warfare components. The Pakistanis claimed their electronic jamming and radar capability was the reason for their successes – a claim also rejected by India. ALSO READ: Dozens killed as India and Pakistan clash in worst violence in decades What experts did point out was the beyond visual range engagements between the two sides' aircraft required long-range, air-to-air missiles and that the Chinese weapons had the edge, in terms of range, over the Nato-standard ones used on the Rafale. While the truth of the engagement is still elusive, the military planners of the West must at least be a bit worried about how well the Chinese ground and air systems integrated in Pakistan. At the very least, what happened over Kashmir means that Chinese technology can no longer be written off as a threat because of its alleged copycat and poorly made nature. The battle also showed that front-line Russian aircraft, like the MiG-29 and Sukhoi SU-30 – used by the Indians – could also find themselves well matched by Chinese fighters like the J-10, with its PL-15 long-range missiles. It also showed that there is now another major player in the international arms bazaar – Beijing. This will further alter the weapons balance long dominated by the West. ALSO READ: Pakistan tests missile weapons system amid India standoff Players like Türkiye, with its world-leading armed drones and Iran, which is supplying missiles to the Houthis in Yemen, are further adding to the mix. Ironically, South Africa could have also been a significant player in this world had not our arms manufacturing and export industry been steadily eroded by the corruption of ANC cadre deployment. Had this not happened, we might today be the equal of Türkiye at least and with the range of products to rival the Chinese industry. Of course, while the morality of having a major defence sector is open to debate, what is not is the fact that it cements a country's manufacturing base and creates thousands of jobs.
Sinar Daily
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Pakistan says India planning strike after deadly Kashmir attack
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan said on Wednesday it had "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike and vowed to retaliate, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir. Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted since New Delhi blamed its arch-rival Pakistan for last week's assault on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, the deadliest attack on civilians there in a quarter of a century. Indian paramilitary troopers stand guard at Hapatnar in Anantnag district south of Kashmir on April 29, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the military "complete operational freedom" to respond to the attack during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, a senior government source told AFP. Pakistan's government has denied any involvement in the shooting, and information minister Attaullah Tarar said overnight that "any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response". "Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext," Tarar said in a statement early on Wednesday. However, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also said Pakistan would not strike first. Leaders around the world have expressed deep concerns and urged restraint by the uneasy neighbours who have fought several wars. Muslim-majority Kashmir, a region of around 15 million people, is divided between Pakistan and India but claimed in full by both nations. About 1.5 million people live near the ceasefire line on the Pakistani side of the border, where residents were preparing for violence by readying simple, mud-walled underground bunkers reinforced with concrete if they can afford it. "We are cleaning the bunker to ensure that if the enemy attacks at any time, we are not caught off guard and we can bring our children to safety," 42-year-old Muhammad Javed told AFP in the village of Chakothi. De-escalation calls India's military said on Wednesday it had repeatedly traded gunfire with Pakistani troops for a sixth straight night across the Line of Control (LoC), a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts that represents the de facto Kashmir border. A Pakistan security source said troops responded to "unprovoked firing" overnight, while another security source told AFP that two drones were shot down on Tuesday near the LoC "after violating our airspace". Since the Pahalgam attack there have been tit-for-tat diplomatic barbs, expulsion of citizens and border crossings shut. Modi vowed last week to pursue those who carried out the attack and those who had supported it. "I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer," he said on Thursday. "We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth." The bellicose statements have prompted worries of a spiral into military action, with calls for restraint from several nations. The US State Department said top diplomat Marco Rubio would call his Pakistani and Indian counterparts soon to urge them "to not escalate the situation". UN chief Antonio Guterres held calls on Tuesday with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in which he "offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation", his spokesman said in a statement. Sharif's office said later he had urged Guterres to "counsel India" to exercise restraint, while pledging to defend Pakistan's "sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India". The Pakistan Stock Exchange meanwhile fell on Wednesday, with analysts attributing investor anxiety to potential Indian military action. Wanted posters India and Pakistan have fought over the former princely state since their independence from British rule in 1947, with the border splitting generations of families. Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan. Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Kashmir attack -- two Pakistanis and an Indian -- who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation. They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man's arrest and carried out sweeping detentions seeking anyone suspected of links to the alleged killers. The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35. Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later. - AFP
Sinar Daily
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
India and Pakistan: A history of armed conflict
The two sides have fought multiple conflicts -- ranging from skirmishes to all-out war -- since their bloody partition in 1947. 07 May 2025 11:25am An Indian security personnel (L) stands guard as people watch on in Wuyan near Indian-administered Kashmir's main city of Srinagar on May 7, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP) NEW DELHI - Long-running tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan soared Wednesday after New Delhi launched deadly strikes at Pakistani territory. The missiles killed at least eight people, according to Pakistan, which said it had begun retaliating in a major escalation between the South Asian neighbours. India accuses Pakistan of backing the deadliest attack in years on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 men were killed. Islamabad has rejected the charge. Both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut. Trucks transport army tanks on a road in Muridke, about 30 kilometres from Lahore, on May 7, 2025. India fired missiles at Pakistani territory early on May 7, killing at least eight people, according to Pakistan, which said it had begun retaliating in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals. (Photo by Murtaz Ali / AFP) Since the April attack soldiers on each side have fired across the Line of Control, the de facto border in contested Kashmir, a heavily fortified zone of Himalayan outposts. The two sides have fought multiple conflicts -- ranging from skirmishes to all-out war -- since their bloody partition in 1947. 1947: Partition Two centuries of British rule ends on August 15, 1947, with the sub-continent divided into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The poorly prepared partition unleashes bloodshed that kills possibly more than a million people and displaces 15 million others. Kashmir's monarch dithers on whether to submit to Indian or Pakistani rule. After the suppression of an uprising against his rule, Pakistan-backed militants attack. He seeks India's help, precipitating an all-out war between the countries. A UN-backed, 770-kilometre (480-mile) ceasefire line in January 1949 divides Kashmir. 1965: Kashmir Pakistan launches a second war in August 1965 when it invades India-administered Kashmir. Thousands are killed before a September ceasefire brokered by the Soviet Union and the United States. 1971: Bangladesh Pakistan deploys troops in 1971 to suppress an independence movement in what is now Bangladesh, which it had governed since 1947 as East Pakistan. An estimated three million people are killed in the nine-month conflict and millions flee into India. India invades, leading to the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh. 1989-90: Kashmir An uprising breaks out in Kashmir in 1989 as grievances at Indian rule boil over. Tens of thousands of soldiers, rebels and civilians are killed in the following decades. India accuses Pakistan of funding the rebels and aiding their weapons training. 1999: Kargil Pakistan-backed militants seize Indian military posts in the icy heights of the Kargil mountains. Pakistan yields after severe pressure from Washington, alarmed by intelligence reports showing Islamabad had deployed part of its nuclear arsenal nearer to the conflict. At least 1,000 people are killed over 10 weeks. 2019: Kashmir A suicide attack on a convoy of Indian security forces kills 40 in Pulwama. India, which is busy with campaigning for general elections, sends fighter jets which carry out air strikes on Pakistani territory to target an alleged militant training camp. One Indian jet is shot down over Pakistani-controlled territory, with the captured pilot safely released within days back to India. - AFP More Like This
The Citizen
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Dozens killed as India and Pakistan clash in worst violence in decades
India's retaliation for deadly Kashmir assault sparks fierce military exchange with Pakistan, killing civilians on both sides. Indian soldiers sit inside a vehicle in Wuyan near Indian-administered Kashmir's main city of Srinagar after a loud explosion was heard on May 7, 2025. The death toll from Indian strikes on Pakistan has increased to eight, the country's military spokesman said on May 7, as India fired missiles at Pakistani territory and Islamabad vowed to 'settle the score'. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier on Wednesday after New Delhi launched deadly missile strikes on its arch-rival, in the worst violence between the nuclear-armed neighbours in two decades. At least 38 deaths were reported, with Islamabad saying 26 civilians were killed by the Indian strikes and firing along the border, and New Delhi adding at least 12 dead from Pakistani shelling. The fighting came two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir. The South Asian neighbours have fought multiple wars over the divided territory since they were carved out of the sub-continent at the end of British rule in 1947. The latest violence exceeds India's strikes in 2019, when New Delhi said it had hit 'several militants' after a suicide bomber attacked an Indian security force convoy, killing 40. The Indian army said 'justice is served', reporting nine 'terrorist camps' had been destroyed, with New Delhi adding that its actions 'have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature'. ALSO READ: Pakistan tests missile weapons system amid India standoff Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the strikes to 'shore up' his domestic popularity, adding that Islamabad 'won't take long to settle the score'. Military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said five Indian jets had been downed across the border. An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory. Pakistan said a hydropower plant in Kashmir was also targeted by India, damaging a dam structure, after India threatened to stop the flow of water on its side of the border. Pakistan had earlier warned that tampering with the rivers that flow into its territory would be an 'act of war'. Calls for calm World leaders have issued urgent calls for de-escalation, while Pakistan's National Security Committee, which convened an emergency meeting led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, called on the international community to hold India 'accountable'. ALSO READ: Rescue efforts underway as avalanche buries workers in India's Himalayas In Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, troops cordoned off streets around a mosque Islamabad said was struck, with blast marks visible on the walls of several nearby homes. The 70-year caretaker of the mosque was killed, and buried later Wednesday at a funeral attended by around 600 people, an AFP journalist saw. 'There were terrible sounds during the night, there was panic among everyone,' said Muhammad Salman, who lives close to the mosque. 'We are moving to a safer place… we are homeless now,' added 24-year-old Tariq Mir who was hit in the leg by shrapnel. United Nations military observers arrived on Wednesday afternoon to inspect the site, which was blown out on one side. Residents had begun collecting damaged copies of the Koran among concrete, wood, and iron debris scattered across the grounds. ALSO READ: Home Affairs' priority visa for Chinese and Indian tourists sees first results Pakistan said 21 civilians were killed in the strikes — including four children — while five were killed by gunfire at the border. At least 12 people were killed and 29 others wounded in Poonch in Indian-administered Kashmir, local official Azhar Majid told AFP. 'We woke up as we heard the sound of firing', Farooq, a man in the Indian town of Poonch, told the Press Trust of India news agency from his hospital bed, his head wrapped in bandage. 'I saw shelling raining down.' India had been widely expected to respond militarily to the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir by gunmen it said were from Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist organisation. The assault in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men. ALSO READ: Analysts say Trump's bid to weaken Brics will fail as US influence declines New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing the attack, sparking a series of heated threats and diplomatic tit-for-tat measures. Pakistan rejects the accusations and called for an independent probe, and on Wednesday Prime Minister Sharif labelled India's strikes a 'heinous act of aggression' that would 'not go unpunished'. The two sides have exchanged gunfire nightly since April 24 along the LoC, according to the Indian army. Pakistan also said it has conducted two missile tests. 'Maximum restraint' 'Escalation between India and Pakistan has already reached a larger scale than during the last major crisis in 2019, with potentially dire consequences', International Crisis Group analyst Praveen Donthi said. Diplomats have piled pressure on leaders to step back. 'The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,' the spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement. ALSO READ: Indian rapist murderer of doctor sentenced to life in prison US President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington he hoped that the fighting 'ends very quickly'. Concern poured in, including from China — a mutual neighbour of both nations — as well as from Britain, France and Russia, Germany and Turkey, while airlines have cancelled, diverted or rerouted flights. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected in New Delhi on Wednesday, two days after a visit to Islamabad, as Tehran seeks to mediate. Rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan. India regularly blames its neighbour for backing armed groups fighting its forces in Kashmir, a charge that Islamabad denies. – By: © Agence France-Presse
