Propaganda from both sides obscures facts in the India-Pakistan air battle, raising global concern over Chinese weapons’ effectiveness.
In war, truth is the first casualty. That’s a saying attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy. And nowhere is that more true than in the current conflict between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, which is split between both countries.
When it comes to fiercely nationalistic propaganda, which puts facts in a distant second place to opinion, the military and the media in India and Pakistan are as bad as each other.
That is why it is so difficult to make head or tail of the events of last week and, specifically, the major air battle which took place in Kashmir and which is claimed to have been the biggest of its kind since World War II.
Each side claimed victory and to have shot down fighter aircraft belonging to the enemy, while the Indians also crowed about heavy damage to Pakistani military installations.
Why the battle is being looked at so closely – especially by the military and experts in the West – is that it is being seen as a weapons proving ground.
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The most pertinent question being asked is: how effective were the Chinese-supplied weapons systems in the hands of the Pakistanis?
Islamabad claimed it had shot down a number of French-made Dassault Rafale multirole fighters from the Indian Air Force – a claimed denied by Delhi.
However, photographs taken of the wreckage of at least one aircraft which went down in Indian territory indicate it could be from a Rafale.
Why this is important is because, on the Pakistani side, much of the upgrades of its air defence system have been with Chinese-supplied aircraft, missiles and electronic warfare components.
The Pakistanis claimed their electronic jamming and radar capability was the reason for their successes – a claim also rejected by India.
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What experts did point out was the beyond visual range engagements between the two sides’ aircraft required long-range, air-to-air missiles and that the Chinese weapons had the edge, in terms of range, over the Nato-standard ones used on the Rafale.
While the truth of the engagement is still elusive, the military planners of the West must at least be a bit worried about how well the Chinese ground and air systems integrated in Pakistan.
At the very least, what happened over Kashmir means that Chinese technology can no longer be written off as a threat because of its alleged copycat and poorly made nature.
The battle also showed that front-line Russian aircraft, like the MiG-29 and Sukhoi SU-30 – used by the Indians – could also find themselves well matched by Chinese fighters like the J-10, with its PL-15 long-range missiles.
It also showed that there is now another major player in the international arms bazaar – Beijing. This will further alter the weapons balance long dominated by the West.
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Players like Türkiye, with its world-leading armed drones and Iran, which is supplying missiles to the Houthis in Yemen, are further adding to the mix.
Ironically, South Africa could have also been a significant player in this world had not our arms manufacturing and export industry been steadily eroded by the corruption of ANC cadre deployment.
Had this not happened, we might today be the equal of Türkiye at least and with the range of products to rival the Chinese industry.
Of course, while the morality of having a major defence sector is open to debate, what is not is the fact that it cements a country’s manufacturing base and creates thousands of jobs.
