China 'gave Pakistani air force support'

Kashmir conflict used as a 'testing ground'

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China provided Pakistan with air defence and satellite support during its clash with India this month, according to a research group under India's Ministry of Defence, suggesting that Beijing was more directly involved in the conflict than was previously disclosed.

China helped Pakistan reorganise its radar and air defence systems to more effectively detect India's deployments of troops and weaponry, Ashok Kumar, director general at the New Delhi-based Centre For Joint Warfare Studies, said in an interview.

China also helped Pakistan adjust its satellite coverage over India during the 15-day interval between an April 22 massacre that killed 26 mostly Indian tourists and the start of hostilities between the two nations, he said.

"It helped them to redeploy their air defence radar so that any actions which we do from the aerial route is known to them," Mr Kumar said at the group's headquarters in New Delhi.

India's government hasn't publicly detailed China's involvement in the conflict. While Pakistan has said it used Chinese-supplied weapons, Mr Kumar's assessment — if correct — indicates that China's involvement went even further, offering logistical and intelligence support to Islamabad.