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Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘A borrowed knife': How China used Pak during Op Sindoor, explains Indian Army deputy chief
'It like a live lab,' Indian Army Deputy Chief Rahul R Singh said on Friday about China's interest as the primary backer for Pakistan during India's Operation Sindoor against terror launchpads across the border. Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh speaking at a function organised by industry body FICCI.(X/PTI) Underlining that 81 per cent of Pakistan's military equipment is Chinese, he spoke about a conflict zone being turned into testing grounds: 'China has able to test his weapons against various other weapon systems that are there. It's like a live lab which is available to it.' Lt General Singh was speaking at a function organised by industry body FICCI. He mentioned 'one border, two adversaries', counting China along with Pakistan, and quickly added 'actually, three!'. He later listed Turkey as the third, for its extensive backup support, particularly in providing drones to Pakistan. On China, he further said it follows the dictum of 'kill by a borrowed knife' and prefers using Pakistan to 'inflict pain' rather than get into 'a mudslinging match on the northern borders' with India. The borrowed knife analogy is among 36 dictums that China purportedly follows as strategy. 'Pak had live info' He also said Pakistan had realtime information on some of India's moves during the conflict. 'Even when the DGMO-level talks were going on, Pakistan was mentioning, 'We know that your such-and-such vector is primed and ready for action.'' He said Pakistan told the Indian side at the time that 'we would request you to perhaps pull it back'. This, he termed, were 'live inputs that [Pakistan] was getting from China'. India's military action followed a terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed. Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, targeting terror bases and headquarters in Pakistan's Punjab province and in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan hit back with a series of missile and drone strikes – believed to have been provided majorly by China and some by Turkey – in parts of Indian Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and other states. Most of the attacks were quelled by the Indian air defence systems. A ceasefire was eventually reached after Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart. US President Donald Trump has claimed to have effected the move, but that's been denied by India. (with agency inputs)
Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘One border, two adversaries': Top Indian Army officer says China provided all possible support to Islamabad
Deputy Chief of Army Staff Rahul R Singh on Friday said India was fighting two adversaries during Operation Sindoor, which the armed forces launched in May following the Pahalgam terror attack. Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh while speaking at 'New Age Military Technologies' organised by FICCI.(X/PTI) The senior official, in an address at industry chamber FICCI, said China also used the India-Pakistan conflict like a "live lab" available to test various weapon systems. "Few lessons that I thought I must flag as far as 'Operation Sindoor' is concerned. Firstly, one border, two adversaries. So we saw Pakistan on one side. But the adversaries were two and if I would say actually four, or three actually. So, Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support," the deputy chief of army staff said during the event, according to news agency ANI. Also Read: 'A borrowed knife': How China used Pak during Op Sindoor, explains Indian Army deputy chief The top army general said that 81 per cent of Pakistan's military hardware used during the brief conflict with India was manufactured by the Chinese. He also said Turkey also played an important role in the operation by providing Bayraktar drones to Pakistan. 'If you were to look at statistics, in the last five years, 81 per cent of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is all Chinese. So, it's no surprise... China perhaps has seen is that he's able to test his weapons against various other weapon systems that are there. It's like a live lab which is available to it,' Singh added. Also Read: India lost fighter jets during Op Sindoor due to restrictions on hitting military targets: Navy officer He also emphasised the need for a robust air defence system to combat the China-Pakistan tango. 'Air Defence and how it panned out during the entire operation was important... This time, our population centres were not quite addressed, but next time, we need to be prepared for that. We need a robust air defence system,' he said. Lt Gen Rahul R Singh also lauded the armed forces for carrying out precision strikes on the terror infrastructure. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 following Pahalgam terrior attack, following which the armed forces struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The strikes triggered a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan involving fighter jets, missiles, drones, long-range weapons and heavy artillery before the two sides reached an understanding on May 10.
