By Micah McCartney
French intelligence has determined Chinese diplomats sought to undermine French-made Rafale fighter jets and promote Chinese-built Chengdu J-10C jets during Pakistan’s conflict with India in May.These findings, reported by the Associated Press, come after Indian defense officials accused China of providing logistical and technological support to its Pakistani ally during the hostilities.Why It MattersThe four-day conflict between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan erupted after India launched missile strikes in Pakistan and disputed Kashmir, retaliating for the deadly April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam. New Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting cross-border terrorism, an allegation the Islamic Republic denied.Chinese and French fighter jets and missile systems took center stage during the fighting, putting a spotlight on China’s emergence as a major arms exporter and regional geopolitical tensions with India.Newsweek contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment via email.What to KnowAccording to a French intelligence report shared with the Associated Press, Chinese diplomats worked to publicize the downing of Rafale jets during the conflict while promoting the superiority of Chinese fighter aircraft.The unnamed intelligence service said Beijing was seeking to present its defense industry as a more credible alternative to France and other Western suppliers.On Friday, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, India’s deputy chief of army staff, publicly addressed China’s role in the brief conflict.”We had China providing all possible support,” he told reporters, adding that this was not surprising. “In the last five years, 81 percent of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is all Chinese.”This support allowed China to inflict pain on a strategic rival without getting involved directly鈥攊.e., to “kill with a borrowed knife,” as Singh said, referring to a tactic from China’s Thirty-Six Stratagems.The conflict also provided China with a “live lab” in which it could test its weapons against those manufactured by other countries, the official added.Pakistan said it downed five Indian aircraft, including three Rafales, using Chinese-supplied J-10Cs during the fierce air battles in early May.India denied the loss of any planes, saying the circulating images of a damaged Rafale were from an earlier, unrelated crash. The operation also involved India destroying Chinese-supplied Pakistani air defense systems, local media reported.France’s Defense Ministry also dismissed claims that Rafales were downed, calling it a “concrete effect of disinformation in modern conflicts.”What People Are SayingFrance’s Ministry of the Armed Forces wrote in June: “By attacking the aircraft, some players have sought to undermine the credibility of France and its defense industrial and technological base. The disinformation campaign was therefore not only aimed at an aircraft, but more broadly at a national image of strategic autonomy, industrial reliability and solid partnerships.”Wu Jiwei, a spokesperson for the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the manufacturer of the J-20 stealth fighter, told the Global Times: “What I want to say is that both aircraft [the Rafale and J-10CE] are among the world’s most advanced fighters. But sometimes, when heroes cross paths under specific circumstances, in a particular time and place, it’s only natural to trigger some discussions.”What Happens NextChina has not yet publicly responded to the French intelligence assessment. The East Asian military power is expected to keep expanding its arms exports, particularly in the developing world.