ISLAMABAD (THE THURSDAY TIMES) — Pakistan has praised the performance of Chinese-made weapons used during its four-day confrontation with India in May, describing them as “exceptionally effective” in combat and a testament to deepening defence ties between Islamabad and Beijing.
Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Armed Forces, said in an interview with Bloomberg that “Pakistan is open to all kinds of technology, and the latest Chinese systems have demonstrated outstanding performance.”
During the conflict, Pakistan deployed Chinese-built J-10C fighter jets for the first time on a large scale. The Pakistan Air Force credited the jets with downing several Indian aircraft, including French-made Rafales.
Although the exact number of aircraft lost remains disputed, General Chaudhry told Bloomberg that Pakistan has raised its tally of Indian aircraft shot down from six to seven. The figure matched a statement made by former US President Donald Trump in Virginia, who said “seven planes were shot down” without specifying by whom.
India’s Ministry of Defence has not formally responded to the new claim, though the Indian Air Force chief recently asserted that India destroyed nearly a dozen Pakistani aircraft during the same confrontation. New Delhi had previously acknowledged that some of its aircraft were affected but stopped short of confirming how many.
According to Chaudhry, “not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit in the battle,” adding that “Pakistan has never played with figures or facts.”
The clash, one of the most intense between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in half a century, involved air, drone, missile, artillery and ground exchanges. It was triggered by the killing of 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir on 22 April, an attack New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-backed militants — a charge Islamabad strongly denied.
The confrontation marked the largest battlefield deployment of Chinese weaponry in modern history, including J-10C fighters and PL-15 air-to-air missiles, both tested in live combat for the first time. Analysts say the event has drawn global attention to the growing sophistication of Chinese defence systems as Beijing expands its military footprint across Asia.
Pakistan also relied on Chinese satellite and radar support during the conflict. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 81 percent of Pakistan’s arms imports between 2020 and 2024 came from China, making it Beijing’s largest defence client.
Last month, President Asif Ali Zardari visited Chengdu, home to the Chinese company that manufactures the J-10 fighter jets. In August, Pakistan also added the Z-10ME attack helicopter to its arsenal, the same model used by China along its border with India.
Chaudhry stressed that Pakistan is not engaged in an arms race. “Our strategy has always been to acquire effective, reliable and economically viable technology,” he said. Pakistan’s defence budget stands at $10.2 billion, compared with India’s $86.1 billion, though both countries spend a similar share of GDP on defence, 2.7 percent for Pakistan and 2.3 percent for India.
