Pakistan Assesses Chinese Military Hardware After India Skirmish

Following a recent ceasefire with India, Pakistan's foreign minister visited China, its largest arms supplier, amid global scrutiny of the performance of Chinese military hardware during recent skirmishes. Pakistan claimed its Chinese-supplied jets, including the J10-C Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder, shot down six Indian aircraft, notably three French-made Rafale fighters, a claim some observers see as symbolic of China's growing military influence. Experts, however, caution that the limited scope of fighting and lack of confirmed information make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of Chinese equipment. The conflict provided a rare battlefield test of Chinese weapons against Western Indian hardware, with Pakistan accounting for about 63% of China's arms exports. This marks the first significant use of large numbers of Chinese weapons by a state against another state since the 1980s. Additionally, an Indian think tank reported that China may have played a direct role in the conflict by providing Pakistan with air defense and satellite support.