NEW DELHI: Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development & Sustenance), has revealed that China provided live, minute-to-minute battlefield intelligence to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, carried out between May 7–10 following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking at the FICCI “New Age Military Technologies” event, he said:
“When the DGMO‑level talks were on, Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployment from China… Pakistan actually was mentioning that we know your … important vector is primed … so he was getting live inputs from China.”
This intelligence sharing, Lt Gen Singh noted, created a scenario akin to “one border, two adversaries—Pakistan and China,” with China using the India‑Pakistan confrontation as a “live lab” to test its weapons against Indian systems.
He also emphasised that 81 % of Pakistan’s combat hardware was Chinese-made—a fact corroborated by Stockholm SIPRI data and Lt Gen Singh’s address. This deep dependency allowed seamless real-time technological integration.
Lt Gen Singh underscored the implications for India’s defence:
- Air defence systems need urgent strengthening to protect population centres, as Pakistan—which refrained from hitting them this time—may not show restraint in future engagements.
- Turkey also played a significant role by supplying Bayraktar drones and personnel to Pakistan during the conflict.
Operation Sindoor—initiated on May 7—targeted nine terror-related sites in Pakistan and PoK, based on extensive technology and human intelligence. According to Lt Gen Singh, the final selection of targets was made just hours before launch.
What This Means for India
| Key Concern | Details |
| Triangular threat | India faced simultaneous pressure from Pakistan (frontline), China (intel support), and Turkey (drone capabilities). |
| Chinese combat-testing ground | By sharing live intel, China gained operational feedback on its systems. |
| Urgency in air defence upgrades | Next conflict could involve direct attacks on cities; India’s multi-layered air defences are now a strategic priority. |
Lt Gen Singh highlighted India’s decisive precision strikes and called for an accelerated deployment of AI-driven battlefield analytics, enhanced satellite jamming, and expanded Indo-Pacific military cooperation.
