Op Sindoor: BJP questions 'The Economist' article praising Chinese weapons

New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Without naming Beijing or Islamabad, the BJP on Monday lashed out at British media outlet ‘The Economist’ for carrying a factually incorrect and misleading article praising the performance of Chinese military hardware used by Pakistan against India during Operation Sindoor.

Sharing a screenshot of the digital magazine’s article headlined: ‘Chinese weapons gave Pakistan a new edge against India’, BJP’s National Information and Technology Department head Amit Malviya wrote on X, “It is quite obvious where The Economist gets its 'facts' or propaganda from.”

In his hard-hitting social media post, Malviya gave several details on the underperformance of Chinese air defence systems, air-to-air missiles, fighter jets and drones.

The Economist’s article dated May 15 claimed that after the super performance of Chinese weapons, “America and its allies are now scrambling for details.”

In another caustic comment, Malviya said, “The conflict exposed chronic issues in Chinese military exports, including poor quality control, unreliable components, and inadequate after-sales support.”

Hinting at an edge for India-made weapons and defence systems, Malviya wrote, “These failures undermine China’s credibility as a global arms supplier and reinforce concerns raised by other countries over defective Chinese equipment in the past.”

He also pointed toward a panic in the Chinese establishment after the failure of military hardware by saying, “China has now summoned Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ishaq Dar, to explain the impact of Operation Sindoor and the failure of Chinese military hardware.”

Malviya said the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, termed #OperationSindoor, exposed significant shortcomings in Chinese-supplied military hardware used by Pakistan.

“With China accounting for 82 per cent of Pakistan’s defence imports, the confrontation served as a real-world test of Beijing’s defence technology against a mix of Indian, Russian, and Western platforms. The results have raised serious concerns about the reliability and combat effectiveness of Chinese weaponry,” said Malviya.

The BJP’s National Information and Technology Department head also shared a list of key failures of Chinese weapons noted during the recent conflict:

Air Defence Systems (HQ-9, HQ-16/LY-80): Failed to intercept Indian aircraft or missiles; vulnerable to jamming and evasion.

PL-15 Air-to-Air Missiles: Missed targets or malfunctioned mid-flight; Indian forces recovered unexploded fragments.

Fighter Jets (J-10C, JF-17): Failed to deter Indian airstrikes; no verified kills; poor performance against Indian Rafales and Su-30s.

Chinese-origin drones: Lacked stealth and were easily neutralised by Indian air defence systems.

CM-400AKG Missiles: Detected and neutralised due to lack of stealth and manoeuvrability; susceptible to spoofing.

Radar Systems: Chinese YLC-8E anti-stealth radar destroyed in a precision strike, undermining claims of its effectiveness.

AR-1 Missiles & Wing Loong-II Drones: Most were intercepted by Indian defences; failed to cause significant damage.

The Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.

These steps came in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered.

During the May 7-10 Operation, Pakistan forces tried to target Indian civilians and military establishments, inviting a strong, focused, measured and non-escalatory retaliation from Indian forces that targeted airports and radars across the border.

--IANS

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