China ran an anti-Rafale propaganda campaign during Operation Sindoor to undermine India: How Congress, which signed an MoU, followed the same pattern

China’s dubious involvement in disseminating disinformation during India’s “Operation Sindoor” has recently come to light. The country launched a disinformation drive to prevent the sale of French Rafale aircraft in favour of its own J-35s during the Operation Sindoor in May following the Pahalgam terror attack. These actions were an element of its Grey Zone tactics (unconventional warfare methods).

China spread AI photos of purported “debris” from the planes that its weapons allegedly destroyed with the help of phoney social media accounts. The significant disclosure was made in US (United States)-China Economic and Security Review Commission report which was presented in the US Congress on 19th November.

A US report says after May India Pakistan conflict China 'initiated a disinformation campaign' to hinder sales of French Rafale aircraft in favor of its own J-35s, using 'fake social media accounts to propagate AI images of supposed “debris” from the planes' pic.twitter.com/APQ9ZCa8zR

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) November 19, 2025

According to the commission, China’s involvement in the 7th-10th May armed confrontation between India and Pakistan “drew global attention as Pakistan’s military relied upon Chinese weaponry and reportedly leveraged Chinese intelligence.”

Beijing was able to “test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons” due to Pakistan’s usage of Chinese technology as it supplied over 82% of Pakistan’s weaponry purchases between 2019 and 2023, making it the Islamic Republic’s major defence supplier.

China tried to exhibit effectiveness of its weaponry to attract more buyers

The report highlighted that the country attempted to increase sales of its weapons by showcasing the effectiveness of its systems during the dispute between the two neighbours. Likewise, the East Asian nation “opportunistically leveraged” the situation to exhibit its own weaponry.

The study stated, “While characterisation of this conflict as a proxy war may overstate China’s role as an instigator, Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons, useful in the contexts of its ongoing border tensions with India and its expanding defence industry goals.”

“This clash was the first time China’s modern weapons systems, including the HQ-9 air defense system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles and J-10 fighter aircraft were used in active combat, serving as a real-world field experiment,” it added. Chinese diplomats celebrated the “successes” of their systems in the fight between India and Pakistan in the weeks following the same, hoping to increase arms sales.

“The Indian Army claimed China helped Pakistan with live inputs on Indian military positions throughout the crisis and effectively used the conflict as a testing ground for its own military capabilities. Pakistan denied these allegations and China neither confirmed nor denied its degree of involvement,” the document noted.

The commission further insisted that “only three jets flown by India’s military were reportedly downed and all may not have been Rafales.” Interestingly, no proof has been provided to validate this thus far. There are merely manipulated images and doctored photographs, yet no authentic evidence exists to substantiate the assertion.

Meanwhile, China even persuaded Indonesia to halt a Rafale deal that was already underway, “furthering inroads into military procurements” of other “regional actors.” The Indonesian government announced last month that it is considering to buy Chinese-made J-10C fighter jets to add to its expanding fleet of military aircraft, even though the Rafale jet deliveries to Jakarta are scheduled to continue.

Increasing military ties between China-Pakistan

The report also mentioned, “China reportedly offered to sell 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 aircraft and ballistic missile defense systems to Pakistan in June 2025. Islamabad declared a 20% increase  in its defence expenditure for 2025-2026.

“In November and December 2024, China and Pakistan held the three-week Warrior-VIII counterterrorism drills, and in February 2025, China’s navy participated in Pakistan’s multinational AMAN drills,” the study informed underscoring the growing military collaboration between the two sides. India perceived this as “direct security threats” to its regional positions.

The yearly analysis provides the US Congress with a bipartisan perspective on China policy. The current report made 28 suggestions in the areas of technology, trade and economy alongside national security as well examined how China has positioned itself through industrial strategy to have a competitive edge in emerging technologies.

The opening statement by the commission’s Chair Reva Price outlined, “President Xi (Jinping) has also been explicit that he wants to make the world more dependent on China. We can expect that China will continue massive, distortionary policy support for strategic sectors.”

The report was released months after French intelligence and military officials asserted that the dragon was engaged in a “disinformation” operation against its Rafale aircraft. According to a French intelligence assessment cited by the Associated Press, defence attachés at Chinese embassies spearheaded the effort to sabotage Rafale sales.

Congress, its leaders cast aspersions on Rafale during “Operation Sindoor”

The report exposed the role of Chinese propaganda to alter the narrative in its favor. However, it is important to mention that Congress, along with its leaders and members of its ecosystem were also busy criticising the government and doubting the military actions of the nation’s forces amid “Operation Sindoor.”

Rahul Gandhi who was at the forefront of this attack even distorted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks to give strength to the enemy’s agenda during this critical period. “Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI (Government of India) did it. Who authorised it,” he questioned in addition to positing the union minister’s video, on 17th May.

The clip was already deemed fraudulent by the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) fact-check. The centre even exposed a number of fake visuals that have appeared on social media, at the time. Furthermore, India previously clarified that “all strikes were carried out without any loss of Indian assets, highlighting the efficiency of our surveillance, planning, and delivery systems.”

Notably, Jaishankar actually expressed, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure. We are not striking at the military. So, the military has an option of standing out, and not interfere at this process. They chose not to take this good advice.”

“The EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is the early phase after Operation Sindoor’s commencement. This is being falsely represented as before the operation. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,” the ministry outlined.

He clearly did not mention that Pakistan was informed beforehand and the sequence of events confirmed by the PIB and Indian defence officials suggested that the operation had already ended by the time the message reached the Islamabad.

However, the statement was twisted by the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha who opted to continue promoting the Pakistani and Chinese lies concerning the downing of Rafale jets. He even continued to advance the enemy’s propaganda and relentlessly launched these unfounded allegations.

“EAM Jaishankar’s silence isn’t just telling, it’s damning. So I’ll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime and the nation deserves the truth,” the Gandhi scion shamelessly reiterated despite the striking absence of evidence to support his claims. Pakistan expectedly used his comments to declare victory and portray “Operation Sindoor” as a defeat for India.

Congress officials circulate lies about the destruction of Indian jets

Other Congress leaders also mirrored the outrageous sentiments of their chief leader. Its national spokesperson Pawan Khera described Jaishankar’s statement as “mukhbiri (acting as an informant).” He lashed out, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will have to answer why this was done. The government should answer how many aircraft did India lose? What losses did the country suffer? How many terrorists escaped.”

Likewise, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy asked PM Modi how many Rafale fighter jets were lost at the hands of Pakistan. He voiced, “The soldiers of this (Secunderabad) Cantonment participated in the war. The war planes being manufactured in Telangana upheld respect for our country.”

“Rafale aircraft brought by Narendra Modi were shot down by Pakistan. There is no discussion on how many Rafales were shot down during the recent war. Narendra Modi should answer and give us the account,” Reddy demanded, triggering a massive row.

Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore echoed the same falsehoods and insisted that ministers in parliamentary democracies have an obligation to address national security issues invoked by the opposition.

He charged, “Yet, the EAM has remained silent. This silence raises grave questions. Why was Pakistan informed in advance? Who authorised this breach of operational secrecy? What consequences did our armed forces face because of it?”

Another Congress parliamentarian, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring announced that the tail of a crashed Rafale jet was discovered at the Bhisiana Airforce station and claimed to possess images of the same.

"RAFALE CRASHED. Its tail was found in Bhisiana Airforce station. I've brought the pictures.
~ Air Marshal Bharti called it Unidentified. You FOOLED the country" Read More