India failed to convey effectively the failure of Chinese HQ-9 air defence system (among other Chinese weapons) which failed to intercept even a single Indian missile during Ops Sindoor 1.0

The May 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, triggered by the Pahalgam massacre and followed by India’s Operation Sindoor, served as a pivotal moment exploited by Beijing and Islamabad for disinformation warfare and military experimentation.

A comprehensive report submitted to the US Congress by the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) reveals how China strategically capitalised on this four-day confrontation.

According to the USCC, China used the conflict as a unique testing ground for its advanced military hardware. Notably, its modern systems such as the HQ-9 air defence system and J-10 fighter jets were deployed in actual combat operations for the first time. This on-the-ground combat use served as a “real-world field experiment” to showcase and validate China’s latest defence technologies.

Alongside combat testing, the report uncovers a coordinated disinformation campaign linking Chinese intelligence networks with Pakistan’s propaganda machinery. The objective was to severely undermine the reputation of India's Rafale fighter jets while promoting Chinese rival aircraft in international arms markets.

Chinese agents reportedly leveraged fake social media accounts to disseminate AI-generated images and video clips fabricated to appear as remnants of Indian Rafales allegedly destroyed by Chinese-supplied Pakistani weapons. These falsified visuals aimed to disrupt Rafale sales by saturating digital arenas with misleading content and false narratives.

The campaign extended to official Chinese diplomatic channels that amplified the stories of Chinese equipment’s “success” in the conflict, effectively turning the events into a live demonstration for prospective international buyers.

This joint Chinese-Pakistani initiative epitomises grey-zone warfare, where peacetime information and propaganda tools aggressively serve military and commercial interests without direct kinetic engagement.

Pakistan’s propaganda ecosystem simultaneously propagated claims that its air defence network dominated Indian skies during Operation Sindoor, allegedly downing several Indian aircraft, including Rafales. These assertions were bolstered by fabricated statements attributed to a French naval officer, reportedly validating Pakistan’s air superiority and purported Rafale losses.

The French Navy swiftly and publicly repudiated these claims, denouncing them as “misinformation and disinformation.” It clarified that the officer in question had not made any such statements, underscoring the extent of falsification by Pakistani sources, which even included incorrect reporting of the officer’s identity.

The USCC findings, combined with France’s official rebuttal, strengthened New Delhi’s assessment of a coordinated disinformation offensive. Chinese state-linked actors generated and strategically seeded false content, while Pakistan-based outlets and fake accounts amplified it to lend credibility and global reach.

Senior Indian security officials identify this China-Pakistan collaboration as part of a growing pattern observed over recent years. The model seemingly involves Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) crafting ground-level narratives, which Chinese information operations magnify for wider international impact.

This covert collaboration first attracted attention in December 2021, when India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) blocked 20 YouTube channels and two websites linked to a coordinated network based in Pakistan. These platforms spread fake news on sensitive subjects including the Indian Army, Kashmir, and foreign policy, operating under the guise of independent news outlets while cross-promoting each other.

In subsequent years, the MIB executed similar crackdowns, blocking additional Pakistan-based channels that monetised fake content targeting India’s national security—content which often echoed Beijing’s strategic narratives portraying India as unstable and militarily ineffective.

By 2024, more detailed open-source studies began to expose China’s direct role in these operations. Research by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), in collaboration with Taiwanese partners, tracked Chinese-influenced social media campaigns stoking communal violence in Manipur and criticising the Indian government ahead of general elections. Other campaigns targeted the global Sikh diaspora with hostile narratives about India’s minority treatment.

Experts warn that China’s approach to information warfare is integrated within its broader military strategy, combining propaganda, cyberattacks, and psychological operations to assert narrative control as a strategic domain.

In South Asia, Chinese influence operations increasingly merge with longstanding ISI propaganda networks, especially those focused on Kashmir and terrorism, creating a potent hybrid disinformation environment.

Indian cybersecurity firms noted surges in Pakistan-origin accounts supporting Beijing-friendly misinformation during the Ladakh crisis and 2020 Galwan clashes. Similar patterns have persisted through various terror incidents and cross-border engagements, sharply shaping domestic and international perceptions of India.

The Rafale disinformation episode marks a significant escalation due to its explicit commercial intent. Unlike prior campaigns largely targeting regional or internal audiences, this operation aimed to sway defence purchasing decisions in third countries, such as Indonesia, steering them from Rafale jets toward Chinese alternatives with heavy diplomatic backing.

For Indian policymakers, this episode underscores a multifaceted threat: Pakistan drives battlefield narratives and local propaganda to question India’s military efficacy, while China enhances these claims with sophisticated digital fabrication and global amplification.

The rare public support from the French Navy, debunking Pakistan’s fabricated Rafale loss stories, provides diplomatic validation for India’s counter-narrative. However, officials caution that disinformation’s persistent nature means falsehoods propagate faster and farther than the subsequent corrections.

In response, New Delhi is expected to bolster its counter-disinformation efforts through enhanced coordination between intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, and foreign allies including France and the US.

This strategic pivot aims to better detect, counteract, and mitigate the impact of such coordinated grey-zone campaigns, which increasingly threaten India’s military reputation and geopolitical standing without traditional warfare.

Based On Sunday Guardian Report