As hostilities between India and Pakistan escalate, China appears to be strategically leveraging the situation to gather crucial intelligence and enhance its military preparedness. The intensification of military engagements in South Asia is creating a rare live battlefield laboratory for China, particularly through its alliance with Pakistan. This scenario reveals the intricate regional balance and the extent to which third-party powers stand to benefit from bilateral conflicts.
A Real-Time Intelligence Laboratory
The use of advanced military platforms during India-Pakistan clashes, including the deployment of French-built Dassault Rafale jets by India and Chinese-made J-10C fighters by Pakistan, has reportedly resulted in direct confrontations that provide valuable data for observers and stakeholders—especially China. Analysts speculate that China, through its cooperation with Pakistan, has access to post-mission data from the J-10C aircraft, which it manufactures and exports under close state control (TBS News, 2024).
Moreover, this exchange presents China with an opportunity to monitor the performance of the PL-15 air-to-air missile, its own development, in combat conditions. This missile has often been compared to the European Meteor missile deployed by India’s Rafales. With the PL-15 reported to have an effective range of over 200 km, China could gain insight into its reliability, lock-on rates, and kill probability in actual combat—knowledge that peacetime drills and simulations simply cannot replicate (Reuters, 2024).
Maritime Surveillance and Strategic Positioning
China has expanded its Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) activities across the Indian Ocean, capitalising on the regional distraction caused by border skirmishes. Chinese research vessels, which often serve dual civilian-military purposes, have been sighted near Indian naval drills. These operations not only serve Beijing’s maritime intelligence goals but also offer a vantage point from which to monitor naval movement patterns and communication protocols (Reuters, 2024).
China’s long-term maritime strategy includes establishing forward presence through infrastructure and investment. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is not just an economic venture—it provides China with access to Gwadar Port and potential naval advantages in the Arabian Sea (Small, 2020). This dual-use corridor could allow for the movement of intelligence and logistics in a region of increasing instability.
Implications for Regional Stability
India has consistently viewed the China-Pakistan strategic axis as a threat to its security. This growing trilateral entanglement may compel New Delhi to further deepen ties with Western powers, especially through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which includes the US, Australia, and Japan (Pant & Sahu, 2021).
For Pakistan, the benefits include technological transfer, access to combat-tested equipment, and the strategic backing of a global power. For China, the gains are intelligence-based—each skirmish along the Line of Control becomes a de facto field test. However, this also risks catalysing a broader arms race in the region, as both India and Pakistan expand procurement and R&D in missile defence, electronic warfare, and aerial combat platforms (Tellis, 2022).
Conclusion
As tensions in South Asia flare, China remains a significant beneficiary of the intelligence opportunities these confrontations present. Through its close defence relationship with Pakistan, it gains access to real-time performance data on its hardware and adversaries. Yet, this short-term intelligence boon comes at the cost of regional stability. If not managed through careful diplomacy, it could fuel greater insecurity across the subcontinent and entrench Beijing’s position in a future great-power rivalry in the Indo-Pacific.
References
Pant, H.V. & Sahu, A., 2021. The QUAD and India’s Strategic Outlook. Observer Research Foundation. Available at: https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-quad-and-indias-strategic-outlook/
Reuters, 2024. Global militaries study India-Pakistan fighter jet battle. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/global-militaries-study-india-pakistan-fighter-jet-battle-2025-05-08/
Reuters, 2024. India-Pakistan conflict offers rich intelligence opportunity for China. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/india-pakistan-conflict-offers-rich-intelligence-opportunity-china-2025-05-09/
Small, A., 2020. The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics. London: Oxford University Press.
Tellis, A.J., 2022. Balancing Without Containment: An American Strategy for Managing China. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Available at: https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/strategy-for-china
TBS News, 2024. India-Pakistan conflict offers rich intelligence opportunity to China. [online] The Business Standard. Available at: https://www.tbsnews.net/worldbiz/asia/india-pakistan-conflict-offers-rich-intelligence-opportunity-china-1138116
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