China provides military support to Pakistan

In the recent military confrontation with India, China provided Pakistan with both air defense and satellite support.

According to Ashok Kumar, director-general of the Joint War Studies Center in New Delhi, China has helped Pakistan reorganize its radar and air defense systems.

 Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images

This support enabled Pakistan to detect Indian military troop movements and weapon deployments with greater efficiency.

Kumar remarked, "It helped them to redeploy their air defense radar so that any actions which we do from the aerial route are known to them."

This assistance suggests a deeper level of involvement from China than initially reported, according to the think tank’s findings.

The research also indicated that China aided Pakistan in modifying its satellite surveillance over India during the 15-day period between the terror attacks in India’s Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 and India's military strikes on suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan-controlled territory on May 7.

China has long maintained a strong defense relationship with Pakistan and has called for the de-escalation of tensions between the two South Asian nations during their brief four-day conflict.

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.

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.

On Monday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar began a three-day official visit to China, following an invitation from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as reported by a state-run news agency.

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 disputed border with China, where a 2020 clash left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops dead.