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The Print
5 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Op Sindoor: CDS contradicts Army Deputy Chief, says China support to Pakistan ‘very difficult to define'
At a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry event on Friday, Singh said, 'Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support. This is no surprise because if you look at statistics, in the last five years, 81 percent of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is Chinese. China, of course—the good old dictum, killed by a borrowed knife … So, it would rather use the neighbour to cause pain than get involved in the mud-slinging match on the northern borders.' His comments came just days after Deputy Chief of Army Staff (capability development & sustenance) Lt Gen. Rahul R. Singh made a candid assessment in public, saying there were multiple lessons to be learnt from the 87-hour conflict, the biggest lesson being that while it was just one border, India had a minimum of three adversaries. New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan Tuesday sought to underplay Chinese support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, saying, 'How much of State support is very difficult to define'. Singh also said China was giving live updates of Indian military deployments to Pakistan. 'When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that we know that your such and such vector was primed and ready for action, and we would request you to—perhaps—pull it back. So, it was getting live inputs from China. That is one place we really need to move fast and take appropriate action,' he said. However, speaking at an Observer Research Federation event in Delhi on Tuesday, Gen. Chauhan said that there was no unusual activity on the northern borders during the conflict with Pakistan. 'Maybe it was a short conflict, but it is a fact that there was no unusual activity. The second fact is that Pakistan imports most of its weapons from China. Chinese OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have a number of liabilities, so there will be people attempting to service their liabilities, and they will be there. That happens everywhere,' he said. 'Third is information—there are a number of Chinese companies also doing work for commercial imagery. You have Maxar and Planet Labs. You can go to China or the US. How much of State support is very difficult to define,' he said. China on Monday defended Beijing's 'traditional friendship' with Islamabad, saying that defence and security cooperation is part of the 'normal cooperation' between them. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Pakistan's claims 'absolutely not correct', no political constraints on armed forces: Defence secy
The Hindu
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
The new battle challenge of China-Pakistan collusion
On July 4, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Rahul R. Singh, confirmed an important aspect of the China-Pakistan nexus that has been discussed in the strategic community since the four-day military hostilities with Pakistan (Operation Sindoor, May 7-10). Speaking publicly, he said that China was an ever-present factor bolstering Pakistan's military efforts through unprecedented battlefield collusion during Operation Sindoor. Lt. Gen. Singh also spoke of the military assistance extended by Türkiye, but that was of a much lesser order of magnitude. In the India-Pakistan military confrontations of 1965 and 1971, and even during the Kargil operations in 1999, China was a background player, offering diplomatic backing and token military gestures on Pakistan's behalf, without engaging directly in hostilities. This time, however, China's posture was distinctly more layered and collusive, leveraging its robust defence-industrial base, sophisticated intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, practised interoperability, and geostrategic assets to reinforce Pakistan's war efforts without overtly crossing red lines. This represents a major progression in China's traditional strategy of building up Pakistan's strategic and conventional capabilities through overt and covert help to counter India and keep it off-balance. Also Read | China used conflict between India and Pakistan as a live lab: Deputy Chief of Army Staff Subtle but strategic diplomatic signalling In the diplomatic arena, China refrained from condemning the Pahalgam terrorist attack (April 22) until a belated telephonic conversation on May 10 between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval. In fact, China's official responses mirrored Pakistan's narrative — advocating a 'quick and fair investigation' of the Pahalgam attack and expressing 'full understanding' of Islamabad's 'legitimate security concerns'. The May 7 strike by India on terrorist targets was deemed 'regrettable' by the Chinese Foreign Office spokesperson. China also collaborated with Pakistan in diluting the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) press statement, excising any direct reference to The Resistance Front, the group behind the Pahalgam attack Significantly, India avoided any political-level contact with China in the context of Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor (until the NSA's conversation with Wang Yi), unlike with other UNSC members (excepting Pakistan), signalling India's assessment of China's unhelpful stance. The Chinese media played a very active role in shaping perceptions. State-affiliated platforms amplified Pakistan's propaganda, which included exaggerated claims about the loss of Indian fighter aircraft. Social media commentators aligned with the Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)-fuelled psychological warfare efforts — this included celebrating the alleged success of Chinese-origin military platforms deployed by Pakistan in its first-ever encounter with advanced western weapon platforms in a combat situation. This digital landscape underscored not only China's active informational support but also its alignment with Pakistan's strategic messaging. By omitting the context of the terror attack's severity, Chinese reports sought to imply that India's military actions were disproportionate. A recurring theme among Chinese experts was the concern that the crisis could escalate into a nuclear conflict, prompting calls for international diplomatic intervention to prevent further escalation. Also Read | Pakistan, China working to establish new regional bloc with potential to replace SAARC: Report Hardware, ISR and tactical integration China's military collusion, however, went beyond diplomatic alignment and propaganda. The less-likely scenario of a 'two-front war' — with China and Pakistan launching simultaneous military operations against India — has distinctly metamorphosed into the more imminent challenge of a 'one-front reinforced war', where a conflict with Pakistan can now openly involve China. For the first time, advanced Chinese-origin systems were visibly employed by Pakistan in a live operational environment. The Pakistan Air Force's deployment of Chinese J-10C fighters armed with PL-15 beyond-visual-range missiles, alongside HQ-9 air defence systems, demonstrated enhanced capability through operational integration honed over the years of joint exercises such as the Shaheen-series. This interoperability was not just symbolic. It was translated into tactical advantages in real-time combat. Drones, cyber operations, and net-centric warfare elements employed by Pakistan showed unmistakable imprints of the 'Chinese military playbook'. As Lt. Gen. Singh has confirmed, Chinese ISR systems provided real-time data, situational awareness, and surveillance capabilities to the Pakistani forces. Even civilian assets such as the Chinese fishing fleet were reportedly leveraged to monitor Indian naval deployments, while Pakistan's Navy remained coastal-bound. China's BeiDou satellite navigation system played a critical role, including in missile guidance for the PL-15, reaffirming the direct integration of Chinese systems into Pakistani battlefield operations. Reports also indicate the fusion of the Swedish Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform alongside Chinese systems to down Indian aircraft, reflecting a sophisticated convergence of multi-origin platforms, many of which are enabled or integrated by Chinese technologies. This evolving situation compels several conclusions. First, the significant role of Chinese hardware, ISR, and battlefield advisory inputs have radically complicated India's deterrence framework. China's ability to provide real-time support without overt military engagement allows it to play a long strategic game. It can test India's red lines while avoiding direct escalation. Second, a 'new normal' is emerging wherein India finds greater latitude for conventional operations against Pakistan despite the nuclear overhang. China and Pakistan are, in parallel, constructing their own 'new normal' of battlefield coordination. This includes stepped-up defence procurements: Pakistan's announcement on June 6 of China offering it its fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighters, the KJ-500 AEW&C aircraft, and the HQ-19 ballistic missile defence system reinforces its position as the foremost recipient of Chinese frontline military hardware. Third, Operation Sindoor may have inadvertently served as a 'live-fire demonstration' for China's defence industry, validating its platforms and collecting performance data in real combat against western systems. This success offers China greater leverage in global arms markets and incentivises continued grey-zone tactics, probing India's thresholds without initiating open hostilities. Fourth, India now faces live borders with both China and Pakistan. Despite the October 2024 disengagement in Eastern Ladakh, forces remain heavily deployed along the northern frontier. Simultaneously, the ceasefire along the Line of Control and the international boundary with Pakistan — restored in 2021 — has effectively collapsed. This dual-front deployment forces India to spread its resources: troops, ISR assets, logistical chains, and conventional platforms must be available simultaneously on both flanks. The demand is not just for preparedness but for sustained deterrence. Also Read | China, Pakistan, Afghanistan meet in Beijing, decide to expand CPEC Preparing for the future India is entering a period where sub-conventional conflict and conventional operations blur across a composite threat from China and Pakistan. This 'one-front reinforced' challenge demands strategic imagination, conventional build-up, institutional coordination, and diplomatic clarity. In light of this altered reality, India must reassess its diplomatic calibration vis-à-vis China. Beijing's strategic enabling of Pakistan in battlefield conditions must carry costs. If 'terror and talks' cannot coexist in India's Pakistan policy, then strategic collusion by China with Pakistan cannot be decoupled from its bilateral engagement with India. India may need to signal consequences, both through diplomatic messaging and strategic policy shifts. An obvious corollary to India's 'new normal' of expanded scope of punitive conventional operations below the nuclear threshold is a significant expansion in conventional capabilities. This includes network centric warfare, non-legacy platforms such as drones, and ISR capabilities to counter Chinese assets. The decline in defence spending, from 17.1% of central expenditure in 2014-15 to 13% in 2025-26, must be revisited if India is to meet the demands of an increasingly complex battlespace. India must maintain a degree of unpredictability in its response to provocations from Pakistan, avoiding knee-jerk kinetic actions. If India predictably opts for punitive military strike, it could fall in a trap that would be exploited by Pakistan and China acting collusively. Instead, it must also explore alternative forms of retaliatory actions. The abrogation of the Indus Waters Treaty could be one such option, but there are other levers available which can be deployed without publicity. Battlefield collusion is no longer a theoretical concern; it is a lived experience. Operation Sindoor should not only serve as a lesson in tactical innovation but also as a wake-up call for rethinking India's defence posture, force modernisation, and strategic signalling. The sooner this reality is integrated into India's strategic planning, the better prepared India will be for a future shaped not by isolated provocations but by a collusive China-Pakistan challenge across a contested battlespace. Ashok K. Kantha is a former Ambassador to China, now involved with think-tanks
Hindustan Times
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
India faced 3 adversaries inOp Sindoor: Top general
NEW DELHI: India faced not one but three adversaries during the four-day military confrontation with Pakistan under Operation Sindoor two months ago, a top general said on Friday, putting the spotlight on the crucial battle support provided to Islamabad by allies Beijing and Ankara, and the lessons learnt from the May 7-10 clash. Deputy chief of Army Staff Lt General Rahul R. Singh speaks during a conference-cum-exhibition on 'New Age Military Technologies: Industry Capabilities & Way Forward' organised by FICCI, in New Delhi, on Friday. (PTI) Beijing saw the confrontation as a 'live lab' to test the performance of the weapons and systems supplied by it to Pakistan, and the Chinese actions reflected its strategy against India of 'killing with a borrowed knife' (using Pakistan for its own gains), said Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, deputy chief of army staff (capability development and sustenance). China also gave real-time inputs to Pakistan about India's weapon deployments, he said. Singh also explained why Pakistan asked for a ceasefire. 'Because there was a punch that was ready, and they realised that the hidden punch, in case it comes through, Pakistan would be in a very, very bad condition.' He was likely referring to the current leadership's muscular response to terror strikes. Previously, the understanding was that Pakistan sued for peace after Indian strikes on several of its military and air bases on the morning of May 10, but it was always suspected that New Delhi had a larger strike in the works, perhaps with the Indian Navy also getting involved. Singh's comment is the first official acknowledgement of that. 'So 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 adversaries were two. And I would say actually three. Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support… Turkey also played a very important role in providing the type of support that was there,' said Singh at a conference on New Age Military Technologies organised by industry grouping FICCI. This is the first time that top levels of the Indian military have detailed the role of China and Turkey during the four-day military clash, the most intense conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in decades. India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck nine terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as a response to the Pahalgam terror strike in which 26 people were shot dead by terrorists. It sparked 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 stopping all military action on May 10. 'And it's (Chinese support) is no surprise because if you were to look at statistics in the last five years, 81% of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is all Chinese. And China, of course, (used) the good old dictum 'kill by a borrowed knife'…So he would rather use the neighbour to cause pain, rather than getting involved in the mud-slinging match on the northern borders,' Singh said, referring to the long-standing issue of an undefined border between India and China . Indian air defence systems and radars gathered considerable information on Chinese-origin equipment, particularly the J-10 and JF-17 fighter jets, PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile and HQ-9 long-range air defence system. This was the first known use in combat for most of this equipment. Singh highlighted how China evaluated the performance of the weaponry supplied by it to Pakistan. 'China, perhaps, has seen that he is able to test his weapons against, say, various other weapon systems that are like a live lab, which is available. That is something we have to be cognisant about,' he said. Pakistan was getting real-time inputs from China about the positioning of Indian weapons during the clash, Singh said. 'When the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan was actually mentioning that 'we know that your such and such important vector is primed and ready for action and I would request you to perhaps pull it back.' So he was getting live inputs from China.' This is the first time that India has confirmed details of real-time coordination between Beijing and Islamabad. The Congress was quick to cite Singh's comments and demand a discussion on India-China relations in the Parliament. 'Lt Gen Singh has revealed some details of the extraordinary ways by which China helped the Pakistan Air Force. This is the same China which completely destroyed the status quo in Ladakh five years ago but to which Prime Minister Modi gave a public clean chit on June 19, 2020. For five years, the INC has been demanding a discussion on the full gamut of India-China relations in the Parliament. The Modi government has consistently refused to have such a debate,' said Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who is also the party's general secretary in-charge communications. The Congress will continue to make this demand in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament, and the government must agree so that a consensus can be built for a collective response to the geopolitical and economic challenges that China poses to India --- directly and through Pakistan, Ramesh said. In his lecture, the army's deputy chief touched upon Turkey's role too, especially the drones supplied by it to Pakistan. 'Bayraktar (drones), of course, he (Turkey) has been giving (to Pakistan) from before. We saw numerous other drones also coming in, landing in the face of war, during the war, along with trained sort of individuals who were there.' India's population centres were not quite targeted by Pakistan during the skirmish but, in the next round, the country must be prepared for that, Singh said. 'For that, more and more air defence, more and more counter rocket artillery, drone sort of a system has to be prepared for which we have to move very fast,' he said. The defining thing about Operation Sindoor was that the strategic messaging by the country's leadership was unambiguous, he said. 'You cross the redlines and there will be action. There would be punitive action if required. There is no scope of absorbing the pain the way we did a few years ago,' he said, likely a reference to terror strikes in the past to which India did not respond militarily. India has now made it explicit that any sub-conventional attack (such as a terror strike) will be responded through conventionally (a military strike). He said stopping the war at the appropriate time was a masterstroke by India. 'An important consideration was that we should always be on top of the escalation ladder. When we reach a political military objective, we should try and put a stop to it. So a lot of naysayers say, why did we stop now? So war is easy to initiate, but it's very difficult to control. I would say that was a masterstroke to stop the war.'
The Wire
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Five Key Revelations from Army's Deputy Chief on Operation Sindoor
New Delhi: The statements made by Lieutenant General Rahul R. Singh, deputy chief of army staff (capability development and sustenance), at the FICCI 'New Age Military Technologies' event on Friday (July 4) make it clear that Operation Sindoor was not just a bilateral India-Pakistan conflict, but a complex multi-actor engagement involving sophisticated intelligence sharing, real-time battlefield support and coordinated military assistance. Here are the five most significant revelations made by Lieutenant General Singh about Operation Sindoor: 'One border, three adversaries' Lieutenant General Singh revealed that during Operation Sindoor, India faced not just Pakistan, but effectively three adversaries on one border. 'Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support … Turkey also played a very important role in providing the type of support that was there,' he stated. This exposed the collusive nature of threat faced by India, where it faces multiple state actors working in concert, even if as a proxy conflict. This fundamentally changes India's strategic calculus and defence planning, as it confirms the two-front collusive threat is not a theoretical construct for the Indian military but an operational reality. Pakistan had full real-time intelligence visibility into India The most shocking revelation made by Lieutenant General Singh was that Pakistan had full visibility into Indian military deployments, which was made evident during the director general of military operations (DGMO)-level talks. 'When the DGMO-level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that 'we know that your such and such important vector is primed and ready for action. I would request you to perhaps pull it back'. So he was getting live inputs … from China,' he disclosed. This represents a huge vulnerability and demonstrates China's direct involvement in providing strategic military intelligence against India, fundamentally altering the nature of the conflict. Indigenous equipment performance issues Lieutenant General Singh acknowledged that while some indigenous systems performed well during Operation Sindoor, others revealed critical gaps. He also highlighted supply chain vulnerabilities, noting that equipment scheduled for delivery by January or October-November was not available during the operation. Providing a specific example on the requirement of drones and his meeting with Indian drone manufacturers, he said he had asked these manufacturers in April how many of them would be able to 'provide the equipment that you're supposed to in the stipulated time'. 'A lot of hands went up. But when again I called them after one week, nothing came by. The reason is because our supply chains–we are still dependent on a lot of things from outside,' the officer continued. He added that 'had all [that] equipment been made available, the story may have been a little different, right'. This issue adversely affects India's defence preparedness and highlights the urgent need for robust indigenous defence manufacturing with reliable supply chains. Pakistan as China's 'live laboratory' for testing weapons The lieutenant general revealed that 81% of Pakistan's military hardware acquired in the last five years is from China. He described the situation as China using Pakistan as a 'live lab' to test its weapons against various other weapon systems. 'China perhaps has seen that he's able to test his weapons against, say, various other weapons systems that are there. It's like a live lab which is available to them,' he stated. This indicates that any conflict with Pakistan is also a test ground for Chinese military technology, which allows them to improve and upgrade their product for the next conflict. These upgrades will be available to Pakistan, which will be better prepared for the future. Turkey's direct military support to Pakistan with drones He also disclosed that Turkey provided substantial support to Pakistan, including Bayraktar drones and trained personnel. 'Turkey also played a very important role in providing the type of support that was there. Bayraktar, of course, he's been giving from before. We saw numerous other drones also coming in, landing in the face of war, during the war, along with trained sort of individuals who were there,' he revealed. This brings out Turkey's active role in supporting Pakistan against India, indicating a broader geopolitical alignment that extends beyond traditional Pakistan-China cooperation. Lieutenant General Singh's revelations are the first public official acknowledgement of China's real-time support to Pakistan and of Turkey's direct involvement in Operation Sindoor. He candidly revealed Pakistan's unprecedented visibility into Indian deployments and acknowledged critical shortcomings in indigenous equipment and supply chains. These revelations collectively underscore the immediate strategic challenges for India's defence posture. The multi-front threat reality and intelligence compromise are the most critical concerns requiring immediate attention and strategic response.
Deccan Herald
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Govt must allow discussion on India-China ties in Parl to build consensus on challenges posed: Congress
The Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance) Lt. Gen Rahul R. Singh has just publicly confirmed what has been talked about ever since Operation Sindoor was halted abruptly at the intervention of President Trump. Lt. Gen Singh has revealed some details of…
