India and Pakistan have clashed, and both the United States and China have issued statements. Interestingly, they both used the same word.

India and Pakistan have engaged in hostilities. In the early hours of July 7, without any prior warning, the Indian military launched a surprise missile attack on Pakistan and the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir. A spokesperson for the Indian military, Sophia, emphasized that the operation lasted 25 minutes, from 1:05 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., targeting nine locations within Pakistani territory. However, she conveniently omitted the fact that India suffered a humiliating defeat in this operation.

The picture shows the female spokesperson of the Indian military, Sophia.

Indian Air Force Strikes Targets in Pakistan.

In this operation, the Indian Air Force targeted nine locations within Pakistan, but suffered a devastating loss, with at least six of its aircraft being shot down by Pakistan. The downed aircraft included three French-made Rafale fighters, one Russian-made Su-30 fighter, one Russian-made MiG-29 fighter, and one Indian Heron drone. There are also reports suggesting that as many as eight aircraft were shot down. Additionally, an Indian Mirage 2000 fighter, which did not participate in the operation, crashed for unknown reasons. It is speculated that the pilot, possibly fearful of engaging in combat, ejected and abandoned the aircraft.

The Indian Rafale fighter deserves special mention. India paid a hefty price to acquire these Rafale fighters from France. As early as 2012, India and France had preliminarily agreed to purchase 126 Rafale fighters. However, when Modi came to power in 2014, he reduced the order to 36 aircraft, with a total cost of $8.8 billion. The unit price of a Rafale fighter, including related equipment, exceeded $200 million, even higher than the F-35 fighters sold by the United States to Japan. According to the agreement, France was supposed to deliver the first batch in 2019, but the delivery was delayed until 2020. In June 2020, after India unilaterally provoked China at the border and suffered significant losses, India urged France to expedite the delivery.

At the end of July 2020, France delivered the first batch of five Rafale fighters. The arrival of these five Rafale fighters sent the Indian military into a frenzy of excitement.

At that time, India's Defense Minister Singh made a bold statement: "Anyone who dares to criticize the strength of the Indian Air Force is threatening India's sovereignty." India's former Air Force Chief Danau claimed that the Rafale fighters were top-tier aircraft, posing a greater aerial threat than any Chinese fighter. Retired Indian Air Force Lieutenant General Nambi claimed that China's J-20 fighter was, at best, a 3.5-generation aircraft, and that India's Rafale fighters could easily outperform the J-20. The Times of India published an article stating that the Rafale was superior to Pakistan's F-16 and JF-17 fighters, as well as China's J-20 fighters.

The Pakistani Air Force is equipped with American F-16 fighters, the JF-17 fighters jointly developed by China and Pakistan, and China's J-10CE fighters. Since the F-16s were purchased from the United States in the 1980s and are subject to strict restrictions in their use (such as being limited to defensive purposes only), Pakistan did not deploy the F-16s in this conflict. Instead, it deployed the JF-17 and J-10CE fighters, along with the ground-based HQ-9 air defense missiles.

Comparison of the debris of the downed Rafale fighters.

In 2019, India and Pakistan had previously engaged in an aerial conflict. At that time, India's aircraft crossed the border to strike Pakistan, but were shot down, with the pilots being captured. This time, India had hoped that its Rafale fighters would give it a decisive advantage over Pakistan. However, Pakistan deployed a fleet of Chinese-made equipment, which seamlessly integrated data links and utilized beyond-visual-range attacks. In essence, India's aircraft were shot down before they could even spot Pakistan's aircraft. As a result, India suffered heavy losses, with the J-10CE fighters and HQ-9 air defense missiles both achieving the first kills. Instead of gaining face, India ended up exposing its vulnerabilities, and in the process, also tarnished the reputation of French military equipment. In the future, France's arms reputation may be severely damaged due to India's actions.

Both the United States and China have made statements regarding the India-Pakistan conflict. India has informed several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, about the situation, but it has not informed France and China. Why didn't India inform France? Because the downed aircraft were French-made Rafale fighters, and India was too embarrassed to report it. And why didn't India inform China? The reason is simple: everyone can guess which aircraft shot down the Rafale fighters, and India was equally embarrassed to report it to China.

Comparison of the debris of the downed Rafale fighters.

After listening to India's report, Trump simply said, "That's too bad." A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed, "China regrets India's military action this morning and is concerned about the current development of the situation..." While both the United States and China used the word "regret," the implications are vastly different. The United States regrets that India has proven to be so ineffectual. China regrets that India's action resulted in the loss of so many aircraft; after all, who provoked the conflict?

It is worth noting that China did not express regret regarding Pakistan's actions. So, we should fully support Pakistan in teaching India a lesson!