‘One border, two adversaries’: Top Indian Army officer says China provided all possible support to Islamabad
The Deputy chief of Army staff said that Pakistan has 81 per cent Chinese hardware in their military fleet.
Deputy Chief of Army Staff Rahul R Singh on Friday said India was fighting two adversaries during Operation Sindoor, which the armed forces launched in May following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The senior official, in an address at industry chamber FICCI, said China also used the India-Pakistan conflict like a "live lab" available to test various weapon systems.
"Few lessons that I thought I must flag as far as 'Operation Sindoor' is concerned. Firstly, one border, two adversaries. So we saw Pakistan on one side. But the adversaries were two and if I would say actually four, or three actually. So, Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support," the deputy chief of army staff said during the event, according to news agency ANI.
Also Read: ‘A borrowed knife’: How China used Pak during Op Sindoor, explains Indian Army deputy chief
The top army general said that 81 per cent of Pakistan's military hardware used during the brief conflict with India was manufactured by the Chinese. He also said Turkey also played an important role in the operation by providing Bayraktar drones to Pakistan.
“If you were to look at statistics, in the last five years, 81 per cent of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is all Chinese. So, it's no surprise... China perhaps has seen is that he's able to test his weapons against various other weapon systems that are there. It's like a live lab which is available to it,” Singh added.
He also emphasised the need for a robust air defence system to combat the China-Pakistan tango.
“Air Defence and how it panned out during the entire operation was important... This time, our population centres were not quite addressed, but next time, we need to be prepared for that. We need a robust air defence system,” he said.
Lt Gen Rahul R Singh also lauded the armed forces for carrying out precision strikes on the terror infrastructure.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 following Pahalgam terrior attack, following which the armed forces struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The strikes triggered a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan involving fighter jets, missiles, drones, long-range weapons and heavy artillery before the two sides reached an understanding on May 10.
