Did China provide real time intelligence to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor?

ANI

New Delhi, July 09, 2025 (ANI): Did China provide real time intelligence to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor? Chief of Defence Staff general Anil Chauhan and Deputy Chief of Army Staff Rahul R Singh assesses the situation in wake of Pahalgam Attack.

Transcript

00:00One border, two adversaries.

00:02In the past five years, Pakistan has acquired almost 70 to 80 percent of its weapons and equipment from China.

00:10Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support.

00:16There was no unusual activity on the northern borders during the duration of this conflict.

00:20China perhaps has seen is that he is able to test his weapons against, say, various other weapon systems that are there

00:29It's like a live lab which is available.

00:32How much of state support will be there? It's very difficult to define in that particular process.

00:39He was getting live inputs as far as from China.

00:43So that is one place we really need to move fast.

00:47When this information turns into intelligence is also very difficult to define.

00:53Few lessons that I thought I must flag as far as Operation Sindhu is concerned.

00:57Firstly, one border, two adversaries.

01:01So we saw Pakistan one side, but adversaries were two.

01:05And if I would say actually four or three actually.

01:08So Pakistan was the front face.

01:11We had China providing all possible support.

01:14And it's no surprise because if you were to look at statistics,

01:17in the last five years, 81% of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is all Chinese.

01:2581% of that.

01:26So it's no surprise.

01:30And China, of course, the good old victim killed by a borrowed knife.

01:3536 stratagems that China talks about killed by a borrowed knife.

01:39So he would rather use the neighbor to cause pain than getting involved in the mud slinging match on the northern border.

01:47So that is what he's seen.

01:48And another thing that China perhaps has seen is that he's able to test his weapons against, say,

01:57various other weapon systems that are there.

01:59It's like a live lab, which is available to us.

02:02So it's a good that is what is something we have to be very, very cognizant about.

02:08Again, Turkey also played a very important role in providing the type of support that was there.

02:15Berekhtar, of course, he's been giving from before.

02:18We saw numerous other drones also coming in, landing in the face of war, during the war,

02:27along with trained sort of individuals who were there.

02:32The next important lesson is the importance of C4 ISR and civil military fusion.

02:39There is a lot to be done as far as this domain is concerned.

02:42Pakistan, when the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that

02:52we know that your such and such important sort of vector is primed and it is ready for action.

03:01I would request you to perhaps, you know, pull it back.

03:04So he was getting live inputs as far as from China.

03:07So that is one place we really need to move fast and take appropriate action.

03:14I talked about electronic warfare and need for robust air defense system is something.

03:21Again, our population centers also need to be protected.

03:23Of course, as far as the other, we do not have the luxury like, you know,

03:29we have been seeing the way Israel, they have the Iron Dome

03:33and a number of other air defense features that they have.

03:37We do not have a luxury because our country is vast.

03:40So, and such things cost a lot of money.

03:43So we need to again look at innovative solutions.

03:48Another lesson, I think, from Operation Sindur was need for a secure supply chain.

03:54So we found, Mr. Ashok again talked about that, the pain because an equipment was not inducted on time.

04:04He was looking at it from the industry point of view, but I was looking at it from a military perspective

04:12that an equipment which was supposed to get in by, say, January or last October, November

04:20was not available to us and in the face and then on 22nd of the previous month, that is April,

04:27when all this happened and when I actually addressed, I don't know, some of you may be there,

04:32when I addressed the drone manufacturers that how many of you can, you know,

04:37provide the equipment that you're supposed to in the stipulated time.

04:41A lot of hands went up, but when again I called them after one week, nothing came by.

04:47The reason is because our supply chains, we are still dependent on a lot of things from outside.

04:54Had all those equipment been made available, the story may have been a little different, right?

04:59So it is both sides. We need to look at that.

05:02Conceptual to the operation that has emerged, very operationally vital for us.

05:09How should we assess those, you know, that linkage and how prepared are we to take on the new dimension

05:17which was always there, but this time we saw its operational results in real time,

05:22very quick, four days, a few hours, and with some very significant results for us and for the region.

05:32Maybe. It's a very difficult question to answer, firstly, because a lot has been said from both sides.

05:39But I'll base my answer on facts, actually, and some reasonable assumptions.

05:46So the first fact which I want to tell the audience over here is that

05:50there was no unusual activity on the northern borders during the duration of this conflict,

05:56which is different. In past conflicts, there had been trouble on the borders.

06:04Maybe this is a short conflict. That's an assumption I can make.

06:09But that's a fact that there was no activity on the northern borders.

06:13The second fact is that we all know that in the past five years,

06:21Pakistan has acquired almost 70 to 80 percent of its weapons and equipment from China.

06:28So that's a fact.

06:29And a reasonable assumption would be that

06:32Chinese, as OEMs, will have commercial liabilities which they have to fulfill

06:41and will have people in Pakistan.

06:45And we all know today, in defense companies,

06:49there are always ex-servicemen who work there, there are civilians who work there.

06:54So there would be people who would be meeting their commercial obligation.

06:57That equipment has to service. It has to function.

07:00It happens for India also. It happens for all countries.

07:02If we get equipment from China, we will have to have.

07:05Third thing we can talk about is information.

07:09So today, we seek information from open sources.

07:13We look at satellite imageries.

07:15So we may look at, we've seen all those images of Maxar, Planet Lab.

07:20There are a number of Chinese companies also doing this, commercial.

07:24So you could go to them or you could go to U.S.

07:28for purchase of these commercial imageries.

07:32So that's possible.

07:33How much of state support will be there?

07:36It's very difficult to define in that particular process.

07:42When this information turns into intelligence,

07:45it's also very difficult to define.

07:47It's unless you are factually correct or you have evidence of it.

07:51So that assessment making is wrong because all this is, you know,

07:56one to the other, it's slightly linked with each other and leave it at that.

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