China allegedly orchestrated a covert online campaign to damage the reputation of French-made Rafale fighter jets after the India-Pakistan border conflict earlier this year, according to a new assessment by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The report claims Beijing used fake social media accounts to spread misleading visuals and promote its own J-35 stealth aircraft as a superior alternative.
The US report states that China launched the effort in the weeks following the end of hostilities between India and Pakistan in May. It alleges that fabricated images, including AI-generated and even video game visuals, were circulated online to suggest that Chinese weapons had successfully destroyed Rafale aircraft during the conflict. The goal, the commission says, was to pressure international buyers to substitute China’s J-35 fighter for the French jet.
These findings follow months of concern in Paris. French military and intelligence officials had already warned they were battling a coordinated attempt to tarnish the credibility of the Rafale platform.
The border crisis erupted after Pakistan carried out drone and missile strikes targeting Indian military installations. Citing a French intelligence review, the Associated Press previously reported that defence attachés working in Chinese embassies played a key role in spreading misleading narratives during and after the conflict.
China sought to boost defence exports amid conflict
The commission says Beijing “opportunistically leveraged” the regional tensions to push its weapons catalogue in Asia. Despite a Rafale deal already advancing, China reportedly convinced Indonesia to pause its planned purchase, slowing French progress in the region.
China’s broader strategy included showcasing its weapons as successful in combat, even when the evidence was manufactured or exaggerated, the report noted. The approach reflects a wider push to expand Chinese defence influence across South and Southeast Asia.
Deepening China-Pakistan military ties
Months before violence erupted, China and Pakistan had already intensified defence cooperation, participating in a three-week Warrior-VIII counterterrorism exercise in late 2024. In February 2025, the Chinese Navy joined Pakistan’s multinational AMAN maritime drills.
By June, Beijing had offered Islamabad a package including 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighters, KJ-500 airborne early-warning aircraft, and ballistic missile defence systems. Pakistan simultaneously announced a 20% increase in its 2025–2026 defence budget.
Indian political response
Back in New Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seized on the US panel’s findings. Without directly naming domestic critics, BJP leader Amit Malviya questioned those who amplified Chinese narratives about Indian jet losses during the conflict.
“Who kept demanding ‘numbers’ on jets lost, even after the Indian Air Force clearly stated that all its assets were intact, and that sharing operational details mid-conflict would jeopardise national security?” Malviya wrote on social media.
India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May in retaliation for a terror strike in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. The operation targeted militant infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing more than 100 terrorists, the government said.
