New Delhi: Chinese state media disclosures have vindicated India’s longstanding accusations against Beijing for backing Pakistan amid the 2025 Operation Sindoor, the government asserted on Tuesday.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal challenged whether self-proclaimed “responsible” powers should shield terror networks tied to Islamabad, prompting calls for introspection on their international credibility, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Jaiswal’s riposte came in response to revelations in the South China Morning Post, drawing from China Central Television interviews broadcast on May 7 to commemorate the one-year mark of the brief India-Pakistan military flare-up. The accounts spotlighted engineers from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China who offered hands-on assistance to Pakistan’s forces.
Personnel linked to the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute recounted collaborating with the Pakistan Air Force under duress. “One engineer, Zhang Heng, said his team operated under ‘extreme conditions’ at a support base to ensure Chinese-supplied equipment ‘performed at its full combat potential’.” Fellow engineer Xu Da highlighted the J-10CE fighter aircraft’s prowess: “Another engineer, Xu Da, said the J-10CE fighter aircraft used by Pakistan proved its efficiency in combat.”
The ministry framed these as proof of what New Delhi had always suspected. “Operation Sindoor was a precise, targeted and calibrated response to the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam, aimed at destroying state-sponsored terrorist infrastructure operating out of Pakistan and at its behest,” Randhir Jaiswal said. “It is for nations that consider themselves as ‘responsible’ to reflect whether supporting attempts to protect terrorist infrastructure affects their reputation and standing,” he added.
India initiated the operation on May 7, 2025, targeting nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir — sites connected to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba — after the April 22 Pahalgam assault in Kashmir claimed 26 civilian lives. New Delhi pointed fingers at cross-border Pakistani complicity.
Pakistan struck back the following day, igniting an intense aerial showdown with fighter jets, missiles, and drones that wound down with a ceasefire on May 10, 2025. India has consistently argued that Rawalpindi’s countermeasures leaned heavily on Beijing’s platforms and logistical backing—a position now bolstered by the fresh Chinese admissions.
