Operation Sindoor involved dealing with three adversaries : "Pakistan was at the front. China and ...Turkey also played .... "

"Pakistan was at the front. China was providing all possible support...Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did," said a top Indian army general at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi.  

Lt Gen Rahul Singh 

Lt General Rahul Singh, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development & Sustenance) made the observation. 

"If you are to look at statistics, in the last five years, 81% of the military hardware that Pakistan is getting is all Chinese...China is able to test its weapons against other weapons, so it's like a live lab available to them," the top Army general told the event.

Speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' event organised by FICCI, Lt Gen Singh said it was “like a live lab” for China as it was “able to test its weapons against other weapons".

"When DGMO-level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that we know your...important vector is primed and it is ready for action. I would request you to pull it back. So, they were getting live inputs...from China," Singh said.

The general highlighted that statistics from the last five years show that it was no surprise that China assisted Pakistan. Singh said that by supplying equipment to Pakistan, China is able to test its weapons against others.

India created history on May 6-7 night 

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in retaliation for the April 22 carnage in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam wherein Pakistan-backed terrorists shot 26 people dead. Most of the victims were tourists and a local, who stood up for the tourists, was also gunned down.

Unleashing a fierce attack on China, the general cited the Thirty-Six Stratagems, a Chinese essay to illustrate schemes used in war, politics, and others. Calling Beijing the "good old victim" and citing one of the strategems - kill with a borrowed knife - Singh said instead of stepping on the actual field, it used Pakistan against India.

"China, of course, the good old victim, kill by a borrowed knife...He would rather use the neighbour to cause pain than get involved in the mud-slinging match on the Northern Border," the Army general said.

He also mentioned Turkey, which has repeatedly vowed its support for "brother" Pakistan since the Operation Sindoor.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan weeks after the conflict, in a show of Ankara's resolute support for Islamabad. Shehbaz thanked Erdogan for his 'resolute support' against India, and the Turkish President stressed the importance of deeper cooperation in areas like intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism.

For four days after the operation, the nuclear countries engaged in fierce conflict, with Pakistan launching a barrage of drones in various border states in India. 

Jammu and Kashmir bore most of the brunt, especially Poonch and Rajouri. More than 10 civilians lost their lives in J&K and Punjab, while India said over 100 terrorists were neutralised during Operation Sindoor, in which precision strikes hit nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-operated Kashmir.

A ceasefire was announced on May 10, and it was revealed at the time that Pakistan had reached out 48 hours from May 7 to seek deescalation. 

Lt Gen Rahul R Singh also said: 

"Air defence and how it panned out during the entire operation was important... This time, our population centres were not quite addressed, but next time, we need to be prepared for that... 

We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. ... We need a robust air defence system...". 

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave nod to 10 proposals to acquire military hardware worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore through indigenous sourcing, in a major boost to India after Operation Sindoor.

The DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, gave Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Electronic Warfare System, Integrated Common Inventory Management System for the tri-services and surface-to-air missiles.  

These procurements will provide higher mobility, effective air defence, better supply chain management and augment the operational preparedness.

The acquisition of indigenous Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) systems will help strengthen India's air defence along the Pakistan border.

The purchase plans also include moored mines, Mine Countermeasure Vessels, Super Rapid Gun Mount and Submersible Autonomous Vessels. These will enable mitigation of potential risks posed to naval and merchant vessels.

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