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Why a Pakistan-India war would be a Chinese vs Western arms proving ground
A clash between the South Asian rivals’ warplanes and artillery could have profound implications for the global arms industry
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Pakistan’s arsenal of Chinese-made and jointly developed weapons could clash with India’s mix of French, Russian and domestically produced military hardware amid rising warnings of an “imminent” conflict between the South Asian rivals.
China, the US and the rest of the international community have expressed hopes that tensions between the nuclear-armed adversaries will not escalate into a full-blown war. Still, many observers are closely monitoring a potential first-ever confrontation between Chinese military assets and Nato-standard weaponry.
Should war break out between Pakistan and India, the performance of their weapons would be closely analysed by military planners around the world, and lessons integrated into national defence strategies – particularly in the Indo-Pacific strategic theatre, where China and the US are engaged in a fierce geopolitical competition.
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Since tensions between the South Asian nations escalated suddenly last week, following a deadly terrorist attack in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, Islamabad has flaunted its Chinese weapons in military exercises meant to deter an Indian attack, showcasing them on social media channels.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday he had given the Indian military “operational freedom” to respond to the attack in Kashmir, according to a senior government source. Modi also said India had a “national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism”, the source told Agence France-Presse.
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Indian politicians and media hawks have amplified their rhetoric, analysts say, in part because New Delhi and Beijing only reached an agreement in October to resolve their 2020 Himalayan border clash.
In a conflict, the armed forces of India and Pakistan would use their arsenals to establish “escalation dominance” – essentially, who can hit the other harder – to set the future tone of their bitter relationship.
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