US Congress Body Exposes China's Disinformation Campaign Following India's Operation Sindoor

India launched Operation Sindoor as retaliation for the April Pahalgam attack.

Washington:

On Tuesday, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an advisory body created by US Congress, accused China of orchestrating a disinformation campaign following Operation Sindoor. This campaign was described as part of China's Grey Zone activities, using "fake social media accounts to disseminate AI-generated images of alleged 'debris' from planes."

According to their annual report to Congress, "China initiated a disinformation campaign to undermine sales of French Rafale aircraft in favor of its own J-35s, employing fake social media accounts to spread AI images of supposed 'debris' from planes that China's weaponry destroyed."

The report further alleged that Beijing "opportunistically" exploited the May conflict between India and Pakistan to "showcase the sophistication of its weapons, which serves its purposes in ongoing border tensions with India and its expanding defense industry objectives."

Operation Sindoor was launched by India in response to the Pahalgam attack in April that claimed 26 civilian lives, targeting terror installations and military sites inside Pakistan.

In August, Indian Air Force Chief AP Singh disclosed that Indian forces had destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and one large airborne surveillance aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

Regarding India-China relations, the Commission noted an "asymmetry" between the two nations concerning border dispute resolution.

"China utilizes high-level, well-publicized dialogues to achieve partial resolutions—hoping to facilitate bilateral cooperation on trade and other areas by compartmentalizing the border issue without compromising its core interests," while "India seeks a sustainable solution to the border disputes."

"In recent years, the Indian government has increasingly acknowledged the severity of the threat posed by China at the border," the report emphasized.

The report stated that current terms of bilateral economic cooperation or border resolution agreements were "largely conceptual," with few "specifics or follow-ups" announced by either country.

It also suggested that the anticipated succession of the Dalai Lama "will likely become a point of contention between the two neighbors."

"It remains to be seen whether China's and India's 2025 commitments represent a short-term function of India's desire to hedge against disruption in trade negotiations with the United States or signal a long-term shift toward normalization in bilateral relations," the report noted.

After several months of bilateral meetings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to China in August for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In Washington, this move was interpreted as India hedging its options after relations with the United States deteriorated due to the imposition of 50 percent tariffs.

In recent months, India-US relations have stabilized, with the first portion of the trade agreement expected to be announced soon.