Delhi's subtle message to Beijing after China admits to helping Pakistan during last year's conflict with India

New Delhi: After China recently confirmed that it had provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during the South Asian nation’s cross-border military flare-up with India in May 2025, New Delhi hit out at Beijing on Tuesday.

India tacitly suggested that China should reflect on whether it should help protect the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan.

Zhang Heng, an engineer from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, recently confirmed during an interview on CCTV, a state-owned TV channel of the communist country, that he had provided on-site technical support to the armed forces of Pakistan when the South Asian nation had to respond to the military offensive launched by India between May 7 and 10 last year.

An AVIC subsidiary produces the J-10CE fighter jets that China provided to Pakistan.

“It is for nations who consider themselves responsible to reflect whether supporting attempts to protect terrorist infrastructure affects their reputation and standing,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said. He was responding to a question on India’s view on China confirming that it had supported Pakistan during the four-day conflict between the two South Asian nations last year.

After the terrorists from Pakistan and the areas illegally occupied by Pakistan had killed 26 people – mostly tourists – in Pahalgam in J&K, India had launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ early on May 7, 2025, targeting the training camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) across its Line of Control (LoC) as well as the undisputed stretch of its border with its western neighbour. Pakistan had responded by targeting military facilities and the civilian population in India.

The Pakistan Air Force had used the fighter jets procured from China to respond to the aerial strikes by India.

It is for nations who consider themselves responsible to reflect whether supporting attempts to protect terrorist infrastructure affects their reputation and standing.

“At the support base, we frequently heard the roar of fighter jets taking off and the constant wail of air-raid sirens. By late morning, in May, the temperature was already approaching 50 degrees Celsius. It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically,” the South China Morning Post quoted Zhang telling CCTV.

He told the TV channel that he and his team had been driven by the “desire to do an even better job with on‑site support” and to ensure their equipment could “truly perform at its full combat potential”.

“That wasn’t just a recognition of the J‑10CE; it was also a testament to the deep bond we formed through working side by side, day in and day out,” he was quoted as saying in a report by South China Morning Post.

“We have seen these reports that corroborate what was known earlier,” Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the MEA, stated in response to a question on the SCMP report on Zhang’s interview with CCTV. “The Operation Sindoor was a precise, targeted and calibrated response to the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam, aimed at destroying the state-sponsored terrorist infrastructure operating out of Pakistan and at its behest.”

The officials of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force had earlier confirmed that Pakistan had fired PL-15 missiles made in China at targets in India. China also purportedly provided satellite support to Pakistan to choose targets in India and to neutralise India’s counterattacks.

China provided approximately 82 per cent of Pakistan’s arms imports from 2019 to 2023. The India-Pakistan clash between May 7-10 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, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) noted in its latest report in November 2025.

It also noted that China had reportedly offered to sell 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 aircraft, and ballistic missile defence systems to Pakistan in June 2025. Pakistan had in the same month announced a 20 per cent increase in its 2025–2026 defence budget, raising planned expenditures to $9 billion despite an overall budget decrease, added the USCC.