Pakistan’s use of J-10C jets and missiles exposes potency of Chinese weaponryShooting down of India’s planes by Beijing’s customer Pakistan would mark the first time the fighters and their PL-15 missiles have been used in combat.
"It has provided a wake-up call about China’s military capabilities as
it threatens to annex Taiwan.
“We may need to reassess the PLA’s air combat capabilities, which may be approaching or even surpassing the level of US air power deployments in east Asia,” Shu Hsiao-Huang, an associate research fellow at the Taiwan defence ministry-linked Institute of National Defense and Security Research, told Bloomberg.
Under the rule of Xi Jinping, China’s military has been modernising and expanding, with a goal to be capable of
an air and land invasion of Taiwan by 2027.
Hu Xijin, the former editor of the nationalistic Chinese state-linked tabloid Global Times, said the incident showed Taiwan should feel “even more scared”.
Part of China’s contingency planning is an expectation that the US military and potentially others would be involved in defending Taiwan.
Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Center, said the two combat theatres were not directly comparable, as a Taiwan invasion would probably involve more input from the navy, marines and army than this month’s limited conflict between India and Pakistan.
“And technically, India did not use American weapon systems during this round,” Sun said. “But the surprising victory of Chinese J-10 and PL-15 [missiles] will force people to reconsider the military balance of power in the event of a Taiwan contingency.”
The apparent success of the J-10C against the Rafales also boosts China’s reputation as a manufacturer and seller of weapons. While China is the world’s fourth largest arms exporter, more than half goes to Pakistan and the rest is mostly to smaller developed nations. It must work around US sanctions.
The share price of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, which makes the J-10Cs, soared on the news.
Small said Pakistan was often seen as a showcase for Chinese weapons."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...inese-arms