New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): Noting that Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor sent a message not just to Pakistan but to the world, a leading international security expert said New Delhi demonstrated both the capability and the will to strike with precision and restraint.
In a video interview with ANI, warfare scholar and expert John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the New York-based Modern War Institute, said the operation also became a test of India’s indigenous systems against Chinese-supplied systems, and the world was watching.
India launched Operation Sindoor early on May 7, striking terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. India repelled subsequent Pakistani military aggression and targeted its airbases, after which both sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities following a call from Pakistan’s DGMO to his Indian counterpart.
Spencer noted that Pakistan is a Chinese-equipped military, making the operation a test of Chinese technologies. “This is absolutely a test of Chinese military technologies, both for the rest of the world and also for China. It uses Pakistan as a lab for this technology… India does share a border with China. Turkey also provides capabilities to Pakistan. There is an element of proxy warfare here. But absolutely, this was a test of Indian indigenous systems versus Chinese systems. And everybody was learning from that demonstration because war puts everything to the test,” he said.
Spencer added that the evidence of military capabilities was evident in video and satellite imagery, rather than in claims about how Chinese systems performed. He emphasized the difference between a full-scale war and a named operation like Sindoor, which he described as a response to terrorism with a clear start and end.
“There are a lot of nuances there, even from the geopolitical perspective of China or any adversary to India using Pakistan and these borders to isolate India economically and militarily. There is a difference between a war and a named operation like Sindoor, which was a response to a terrorist attack that had a clear start and a clear ending,” he said.
When asked about the risk of future conflicts, Spencer noted that while no one can predict the exact timing of war, preparation is key to deterrence. “War is always uncertain, political, and human. You can’t predict the triggering moment of the next war. But one of the ways to prevent future wars is through preparation and being on the ground. That’s why I studied Operation Sindoor. It wasn’t just about those four days; it was about the decade preceding it—India’s emergence, military transformation, and innovation all contributed to readiness. I can’t tell you when the next one is, because the enemy always gets a vote. But I can tell you that India is more prepared,” he said.
On the effectiveness of Chinese weapon systems used by Pakistan, Spencer pointed to possible flaws in both the technology and its use, and suggested Pakistan may look elsewhere for advanced technology despite its financial constraints.
“If what you bought doesn’t work, you go back to the seller and say, ‘This didn’t work like it was supposed to.’ But there’s also user error. Pakistan will definitely try to identify its weaknesses and look for solutions. But they have a money problem—the IMF has to bail Pakistan out. They want advanced, superior technologies, but it is a challenge. They’ll be looking to integrate, but for military capabilities, the evidence is in the video and satellite footage—not in the words about how your Chinese system performed,” he added.
(ANI)
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