India’s military operation, ‘Op Sindoor’ is back in the spotlight following a US congressional panel report, alleging that China used the May clash between India and Pakistan as a live testing ground for its latest military hardware. The report claims that the four-day confrontation, sparked by the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, gave Beijing, a unique opportunity to collect real-time combat data while avoiding direct involvement in the escalation.
According to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China viewed the May 7-10 hostilities as a strategic opening rather than a distant crisis. “Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons, useful in the context of its ongoing border tensions with India and its expanding defence industry goals,” the US report stated.
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First real-life testing of Chinese Military hardware
According to the report, this was the first time China's modern weapons, such as the HQ-9 air defense system, PL-15 air-to-air missile, and J-10 fighter jet, were used in active combat. This gave China the opportunity to test these weapons in live combat conditions. It further claims that in June 2025, China proposed to sell 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 aircraft, and ballistic missile defense systems to Pakistan.
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The report stated, “This clash was the first time China’s modern weapons systems, including the HQ-9 air defence system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10 fighter aircraft, were used in active combat, serving as a real-world field experiment.”
China promoted its weapons
Furthermore, the panel noted that after the conflict, Chinese embassies publicly promoted the success of their weapons, aiming to increase its arms sales. They stated that Chinese weapons performed well in the India-Pakistan conflict, portraying them as proof of technological superiority.
China’s alleged campaign against Rafale
The report has also flagged an information campaign carried out by China, allegedly to undermine sales of French Rafale jets and promote its own J-35 fighters. Beijing is accused of using fake social media accounts to propagate AI and video game images of debris from the planes that its weapons destroyed. “According to French intelligence, China initiated a disinformation campaign to hinder sales of French Rafales in favor of its own J-35s, and it used fake social media accounts to propagate AI and video game images of supposed debris from the planes China's weaponry destroyed,” the report added.
About Operation Sindoor
Operation Sindoor, initiated on May 7, 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, was a tri-services response that embodied precision, professionalism, and purpose. It was conceived as a punitive and targeted campaign to dismantle the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control and deeper inside Pakistan. Nine major terror camps were eventually targeted in the operation.
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