Beijing: French military and intelligence officials have alleged that China utilized its embassies to promote a disinformation campaign targeting the performance of Rafale jets during the India-Pakistan military clashes in May. This campaign was reportedly designed to undermine the sales of the French-made fighter planes and bolster the promotion of Chinese military hardware.
According to France24.com, findings from a French intelligence service, shared with The Associated Press, reveal that defense attachés in China’s foreign embassies led efforts to damage Rafale sales. Their strategy involved persuading countries that have already ordered the French-made fighter, notably Indonesia, to refrain from purchasing more and encouraging potential buyers to opt for Chinese-made planes instead. The India-Pakistan clashes, which lasted four days in May, marked the most severe confrontation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and included air combat involving dozens of aircraft from both sides.
Military officials and researchers have been investigating how Pakistan’s Chinese-made military equipment, particularly warplanes and air-combat missiles, compared against India’s arsenal, which included French-made Rafale fighters. French officials have been working to protect the Rafale from reputational harm, countering what they describe as a deliberate campaign of disinformation from Pakistan and its ally, China.
The campaign reportedly involved viral posts on social media, manipulated images purportedly showing Rafale debris, AI-generated content, and video-game simulations to suggest combat scenarios. Over 1,000 newly created social media accounts emerged as the India-Pakistan clashes unfolded, spreading narratives of Chinese technological superiority, according to French researchers specializing in online disinformation.
Although French military officials have not directly linked the online disinformation to the Chinese government, the French intelligence service reported that Chinese embassy defense attachés promoted the same narrative in meetings with security and defense officials from other countries. These discussions argued that Indian Air Force Rafales performed poorly, while promoting Chinese-made weaponry. The intelligence service noted that French officials learned about these meetings from nations that were approached.
When asked by AP to comment on the alleged attempt to diminish the Rafale’s appeal, Beijing’s Ministry of National Defense dismissed the claims as “pure groundless rumors and slander.” They emphasized China’s consistent commitment to a prudent and responsible approach to military exports, contributing to regional and global peace and stability.
In recent years, China has increased disinformation campaigns on global social media platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook, utilizing networks of state-sponsored influencers, sites posing as news organizations, and fake social media accounts to disseminate narratives favoring Beijing.
The French Defence Ministry described the campaign against the Rafale as a “vast campaign of disinformation” aimed at promoting the superiority of alternative, notably Chinese-designed, equipment. The ministry’s website states that the Rafale was specifically targeted due to its status as a highly capable fighter jet, deployed in high-visibility theatres and representing a strategic French offering. The campaign aimed to undermine not just the aircraft, but also France’s strategic autonomy, industrial reliability, and solid partnerships.
Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale, has sold 533 of these jets, including 323 for export to countries like Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, and Indonesia. Indonesia has ordered 42 planes and is considering additional purchases.
Justin Bronk, an airpower specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank in London, suggested that China may be attempting to weaken the security relationships that France is building with Asian nations by spreading doubts about the equipment it supplies. He noted that from the perspective of limiting Western influence in the Indo-Pacific, China might use the purported performance of Pakistani weapon systems against Rafale jets as a tool to undermine the aircraft’s attractiveness as an export.
“They certainly saw an opportunity to damage French sales prospects in the region,” he concluded.