Pakistan’s military success over India showcased Chinese weaponry: US report

WASHINGTON: A US congressional panel has stated in its annual report that Pakistan’s recent military successes against India highlighted the effectiveness of Chinese-made weaponry.

The US–China Economic and Security Review Commission, in its report to Congress, noted the deepening strategic and defense ties between Pakistan and China.

It said Indian commentators viewed recent Pakistan–China counterterrorism drills as setbacks in New Delhi’s relations with Beijing.

“China expanded its military cooperation with Pakistan in 2025, compounding its own security tensions with India,” the report said.

It highlighted the three-week Warrior-VIII counterterrorism exercises held in November–December 2024 and the participation of China’s navy in Pakistan’s multinational AMAN drills in February 2025, underscoring the strengthening defense partnership between the two countries.

“India’s commentators viewed the drills as losses in their relationship with China and as direct security threats to its territorial positions,” it added.

According to the report, China remained Pakistan’s largest defense supplier, accounting for approximately 82 percent of Pakistan’s arms imports from 2019 to 2023.

The May clash between India and Pakistan marked the first time China’s modern weapons systems—including the HQ-9 air defense system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10 fighter aircraft—were used in active combat, serving as what the report described as a “real-world field experiment.”

The commission also noted that China offered to sell Pakistan 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 early-warning aircraft, and ballistic missile defense systems in June 2025. In the same month, Pakistan announced a 20 percent increase in its 2025–2026 defense budget, raising planned expenditures to $9 billion.

In the aftermath of the conflict, Chinese embassies publicly celebrated the performance of their systems in the India-Pakistan confrontation, using the battlefield results to promote weapons sales, the report said.

Pakistan’s use of Chinese weaponry to down India’s French-made Rafale fighter jets became a notable selling point in Chinese diplomatic and defense outreach.

Last month, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry praised the performance of Chinese systems during the Marka-e-Haq clashes with India in May, saying they had performed “exceptionally well.”

“Of course, recent Chinese platforms have demonstrated exceptionally well,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

During the May conflict, Pakistan’s J-10C fighter jets reportedly shot down at least seven Indian aircraft, including Rafales.