In recent weeks, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated following a military conflict. The discovery of wreckage from a Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missile in Hoshiyarpur, Punjab, India has raised significant security concerns.
Indian officials confirmed on Wednesday that the missile fragments represent the first documented deployment of a Chinese missile in combat between India and Pakistan. This development could signal a serious escalation in the conflict between the two nations.
At the end of April, a terrorist attack in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region resulted in the deaths of 26 people. India held Pakistan responsible for the incident, although Pakistan denied any involvement with the attackers. Subsequently, in the early hours of Wednesday, India launched attacks on Pakistan and the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region.
Specific details about when the Chinese missile appeared on Indian territory are still under investigation.
The PL-15 missile, developed by China, is a short-range air-to-air missile. According to public information, the domestic version of the PL-15 has a range of 200 kilometers, while the export version, PL-15E, has a range of about 145 kilometers. The missile utilizes a dual-pulse solid propellant rocket engine, travels at speeds exceeding Mach 5, is guided by an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar seeker, and is equipped with mid-course data link update capabilities.
After the shooting incident in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April, tensions between India and Pakistan have remained high. The Pakistani Air Force recently released a three-minute video showing that it has equipped its fighter jets with long-range missiles made in China. The video demonstrates that the JF-17C Thunder fighter jet, jointly developed by China and Pakistan, is armed with 4 PL-15 long-range air-to-air missiles and 2 PL-10 short-range air-to-air missiles.
This marks the first time Pakistan has confirmed that the JF-17C fighter jets are capable of deploying the long-range PL-15 missiles.
According to a report by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, the Pakistani Air Force did not explicitly state whether it is using the export version of the PL-15 missile, implying that they may be utilizing the same domestic version as the Chinese military. If confirmed, this would be the first instance of a foreign military being equipped with the PL-15 missile, rather than the shorter-range export version.
Chinese state media has asserted that in a standoff in South Asia, Pakistan’s mainstay JF-17C fighter jet poses a significant threat to India’s Sukhoi-30MKI and Rafale fighter jets.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Chinese state media has been intensively citing unilateral reports on the conflict between India and Pakistan.
With tensions between India and Pakistan reaching their highest levels in decades, the use of China’s latest weapons in the conflict has sparked intense interest in shifts in power dynamics in South Asia and Beijing’s increasingly prominent role in the region.
Firstly, Beijing has been seeking to deepen economic and military ties with Pakistan. In addition to the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), projects such as the joint development of the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets are aimed at enhancing defense cooperation.
European news website Bulgarian Military remarked, “The discovery of missile fragments in Hoshiyarpur is a stark warning: in a region fraught with tension, advanced technology can serve as both a deterrent and a provocation, with consequences far beyond the subcontinent.”
Furthermore, the swift delivery of missiles by China that could potentially escalate conflicts is a cause for concern. Beijing’s direct provision of advanced missiles to Pakistan for testing in real-world conflicts further heightens international vigilance on China’s military ambitions and destabilizing effects in the region. China has had border conflicts or friction with almost all countries and regions bordering its territory.
According to a report by Indian media outlet Firstpost on April 28th, China’s assistance to Pakistan in acquiring advanced weapons, training, and technology transfers is aimed at balancing India’s military modernization efforts.