China gave Pakistan satellite support, Indian defense group says

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Dan Strumpf

China provided Pakistan with air defense and satellite support during its clash with India this month, according to a research group under India’s Ministry of Defence, suggesting that Beijing was more directly involved in the conflict than was previously disclosed.  

China helped Pakistan reorganize its radar and air defense systems to more effectively detect India’s deployments of troops and weaponry, Ashok Kumar, director general at the New Delhi-based Centre For Joint Warfare Studies, said in an interview. 

China also helped Pakistan adjust its satellite coverage over India during the 15-day interval between an April 22 massacre that killed 26 tourists and the start of hostilities between the two nations, he said. 

“It helped them to redeploy their air defense radar so that any actions which we do from the aerial route is known to them,” Kumar said at the group’s headquarters in New Delhi. 

India’s government hasn’t publicly detailed China’s involvement in the conflict. While Pakistan has said it used Chinese-supplied weapons, Kumar’s assessment — if correct — indicates that China’s involvement went even further, offering logistical and intelligence support to Islamabad. 

The Centre for Joint Warfare Studies describes itself as an autonomous think tank focused on integration and transformation of India’s armed forces. Its advisory board includes Defense Minister Rajnath Singh as well as India’s top military commander and the heads of the army, air force and navy.

China’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment placed over the weekend. Representatives for India’s Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, armed forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry and Information Ministry also didn’t respond to emailed queries on Sunday.

The clash was the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbors in half a century, with both sides trading air, drone and missile strikes, as well as artillery and small arms fire along their shared border. It was triggered by the bloodshed on April 22, which India has called an act of terrorism orchestrated by Pakistan. Leaders in Islamabad have denied involvement.

The conflict drew in world powers, with President Donald Trump taking credit for helping to mediate a ceasefire that started May 10 — an assertion that generated anger in India, which said the truce was negotiated bilaterally. On Thursday, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister said the ceasefire would be extended to Sunday, while the Indian Army has said it would continue to work on confidence-building measures with Pakistan.

Kumar said China used the conflict as a testing ground for its weapons. The performance of the Chinese defense systems were below average and “failed miserably” in some instances, Kumar said, citing an Indian military assessment. He didn’t provide specifics.

India’s defense systems reacted well to Pakistan’s use of hundreds of drones in the conflict, Kumar said, adding that India’s integrated network of censors gave it an edge. He didn’t comment on China’s J-10C fighter or Pakistan’s claims that it downed Indian warplanes.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said Pakistan shot down six Indian fighter jets, an assertion that hasn’t been independently verified. India’s government hasn’t commented on whether it lost aircraft in the fighting.

Chinese weapons like the J-10C fighter and the PL-15 air-to-air missile had never seen documented live fighting before, and their use has raised concerns among Beijing’s rivals across the region, including in Taiwan. China’s government hasn’t commented on the use of its equipment, and Pakistan hasn’t presented evidence to back up its claims.

Kumar said that India’s planning for conflicts with Pakistan now accounts for the probability that China will provide assistance to Islamabad. China may not intervene on behalf of Pakistan unless the situation is “critical,” but Pakistan will enter a conflict between India and China, Kumar said.

‘Two-front situation’

“India now factors in a two-front situation in almost all its calculations,” Kumar said. “Anything which is with China today can be deemed to be with Pakistan tomorrow.”

China has long been a backer of Pakistan dating back to the Cold War, and more recently has invested billions of dollars into the country via its Belt and Road infrastructure program. In recent years, India has shifted more military resources to its border with China, where a 2020 clash left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops dead.

More recently, India and China had made strides toward normalizing ties.