India’s sweeping military offensive against Pakistan, which resulted in the destruction of nine terror sites, the disabling of air defence systems, and the targeting of more than a dozen air bases, has sent geopolitical shockwaves far beyond the subcontinent, The Economic Times reported.
Among the clearest consequences is the severe blow to China’s reputation as a global arms supplier.
John Spencer, a well-known expert in modern warfare, characterised India’s assault as a crushing triumph.
Pakistan’s defeat—marked by its call for peace and the failure of its key defence systems—has also exposed serious deficiencies in Chinese-supplied weaponry, which makes up nearly 80% of Pakistan’s arsenal.
As more details of the operation emerged, Chinese defence stocks plunged by as much as 9% on Tuesday.
This reversed earlier gains fuelled by expectations of increased arms sales to Pakistan during the height of tensions. The sudden downturn reflects growing market unease over the perceived reliability of Chinese weapons.
Yet nearly two-thirds of those exports went to just one country: Pakistan.
While China aims to expand its footprint in global defence trade, many major importers still shy away from Chinese arms for political and technical reasons.
Unless Beijing addresses these performance and reliability concerns, particularly those exposed on the battlefield, its ambitions to become a top-tier arms exporter will likely remain unrealised.
Defective quality threatens China’s arms exports
Over the last two decades, China has become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, trailing only the US, Russia, and France.
Despite this, serious performance issues have hampered China’s ambitions.
China’s defence credibility hit as PL-15 and HQ-9 systems falter in Indo-Pak conflict
The poor battlefield performance of China’s flagship military exports—the PL-15 air-to-air missile and the HQ-9 air defence system—has raised serious concerns about the credibility of its defence technology.
During the recent India-Pakistan conflict, PL-15 missiles fired by Pakistan’s J-10C jets either missed targets or malfunctioned, with some reportedly landing in Indian territory.
This challenges China’s claims about the missile’s precision and advanced guidance, especially when pitted against India’s Rafales and Su-30MKIs.
