BEIJING: Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute, Prof Cheng Xizhong, on Sunday dismissed Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh’s baseless claim that the Indian Air Force had shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoor in early May.
He said this claim lacks strong evidence and has been widely questioned by the international community, being considered groundless.
Professor Cheng maintained that all claims should be supported by sufficient evidence. He noted that the Indian side had not provided any proof—such as photographs of the fighter jet wreckage or radar tracking data—while the Pakistani side had previously presented a substantial amount of evidence to support its claim of having shot down the Indian fighter jets.
Therefore, the remarks by the Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh are comical, implausible, and unconvincing. We may call it “self-amusement”, he said in a statement.
He pointed out that more than three months have now passed since the India-Pakistan clash concluded, yet India has not presented any evidence to support its claim of shooting down Pakistani fighter jets. In contrast, Pakistan promptly shared a detailed technical report with the international media shortly after the incident.
The Chinese expert also cited “confirmations from world leaders, senior Indian politicians, and foreign intelligence assessments that India suffered heavy losses of multiple aircraft”.
“It is thus evident that no Pakistani fighter jet was hit or destroyed by the Indian side. On the contrary, the Pakistani side shot down six Indian fighter jets and destroyed S-400 air defence positions, among other achievements, which is an indisputable fact,” he added.
In a post on X, Pakistan Defence Minister Asif has also rejected the claims, saying no Pakistani aircraft had been hit or destroyed. He said Pakistan had instead destroyed six Indian jets, S-400 air defence batteries, and unmanned aircraft, while also putting several Indian airbases out of action.
“The belated assertions made by the Indian Air Force chief regarding alleged destruction of Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor are as implausible as they are ill-timed,” Asif said.
“It is ironic how senior Indian military officers are being used as the faces of monumental failure caused by the strategic shortsightedness of Indian politicians.”
The May conflict was triggered by the Pahalgam incident in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir. The hostilities included air-to-air combat and reciprocal strikes on airbases before a US-brokered ceasefire was reached on 10 May.
While New Delhi has previously claimed to have downed “a few planes,” French Air Force chief General Jerome Bellanger has said he has seen evidence of the loss of three Indian fighters, including a Rafale.
