US Commission: Pakistan Beat India in May 2025 Clash
Does the US Commission’s Verdict Matter?
The phrase “US Commission” acknowledges Pakistan’s military success over India in the May 2025 clash, marking a rare shift in Washington. A bipartisan body that usually scrutinizes China has now told Congress that Pakistan “succeeded” militarily in the May 7–10, 2025 crisis, pushing analysts to revisit assumptions about South Asia’s balance of power.
According to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s 2025 annual report, the four-day confrontation was the most intense India–Pakistan fighting in half a century. It followed a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, that killed 26 civilians and triggered Indian retaliation. Both militaries then struck targets deeper into each other’s territory than at any time in 50 years, creating the context in which the US Commission acknowledges Pakistan’s military success over India in the May 2025 clash.
China’s Systems and the Front Line
Beijing’s role sits at the heart of the report. Pakistan relied heavily on Chinese-supplied systems and, according to Indian claims, also benefited from Chinese intelligence support, which Islamabad denies and Beijing avoids confirming. For US lawmakers, the fact that the US Commission acknowledges Pakistan’s military success over India in the May 2025 clash cannot be separated from China’s effort to reshape the regional military balance.
The clash also marked the first battlefield use of three core Chinese capabilities: the HQ-9 long-range air defense system, the PL-15 beyond-visual air-to-air missile, and the J-10 fighter aircraft. In practice, the India–Pakistan clash became a live testing ground in which Chinese planners could observe how their kit performed against Rafale and Su-30MKI fighters, while Pakistani commanders validated doctrine built around Chinese sensors, shooters, and data links.
Aerial Battle Results and Political Jawdrops
The Commission says Pakistan showcased battlefield gains by downing Indian aircraft with Chinese-made weapons. Islamabad claims its forces shot down at least six Indian jets during the clashes. Officials also insist one of those losses included a French-made Rafale fighter. These claims inflicted political embarrassment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. While some Indian losses are still under dispute, concerns about the exact numbers have not diminished. However, a US commission recognizing Pakistan’s military successes in the May 2025 clash gives Islamabad unusual international visibility.
In New Delhi, the episode raises sharp questions about air defense resilience and electronic warfare protection. Indian officers must also reassess how well high-value assets can survive a saturated missile and drone environment. Planners now have to model how Rafale, Su-30MKI, and S-400 packages perform against HQ-9 and PL-15 batteries. They also need to factor in the possibility of China providing real-time intelligence support to Pakistan in future crises.
Beijing’s Live Marketing Campaign
From Beijing’s perspective, the fighting in May also served as live-fire advertising for Chinese weapons. The Commission argues that China opportunistically leveraged the crisis to showcase these systems in real combat conditions. In carefully crafted public statements, Chinese embassies later praised HQ-9, PL-15, and J-10. China supplied about 82 percent of Pakistan’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023. Every successful engagement therefore became a marketing case study for clients in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
This dynamic fits a much broader pattern in China–Pakistan defence cooperation. Beijing has steadily expanded joint exercises, co-production programs, and technology transfers with Pakistan over many years. These initiatives embed Chinese doctrine and command-and-control methods deep inside Pakistan’s armed forces. When the US Commission recognizes Pakistan’s military success over India in May 2025, it notes the importance of integration. Its language implicitly accepts how closely Chinese and Pakistani defense plans now align on the battlefield.
Strategic Lessons and South Asia
Strategically, the report places the May 2025 clash within China’s wider military and geopolitical expansion across Asia. Deepening China–Pakistan security cooperation intersects with rising India–China tensions along the Line of Actual Control, creating a three-cornered competition where every India–Pakistan flare-up offers Beijing a fresh laboratory for weapons, data, and narrative warfare.
For defence communities that already track Pakistan–China alignment and emerging sensor networks, the Commission’s wording reinforces a clear message. Beijing will shape any future India-Pakistan confrontation just as much as Islamabad and New Delhi do. Because the US Commission acknowledges Pakistan’s military success over India in the May 2025 clash, it effectively warns that South Asia’s next crisis will unfold under an even heavier Chinese technological and diplomatic shadow.
Conclusion
In policy terms, the report is a notable departure from the usual reluctance in Western capitals to concede battlefield advantage to Pakistan. It confirms that in this specific four-day war, Pakistan achieved its operational aims while proving the combat worth of Chinese systems. That verdict will echo through staff colleges, capability plans, and arms-export brochures across multiple continents.
References
- US-China Economic and Security Review Commission – 2025 Annual Report (Chapter on Security and Foreign Affairs) USCC
- https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/Chapter_2–U.S.-China_Security_and_Foreign_Affairs_Year_in_Review.pdf
- TRT World—US Commission acknowledges Pakistan’s military success over India in May clash TRT World
- https://www.trtworld.com/article/5ae0cfa5664f
- India Today—China used India–Pakistan conflict as testing ground for its new weapons: US report India Today
- https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/china-used-india-pakistan-conflict-testing-ground-op-sindoor-military-weapons-us-report-2824218-2025-11-22
- Defense News Today – Pakistan and China: The Alliance Mirroring Israel and the U.S. defensenewstoday.info
About the Author
