PARIS (AP) – China has deployed embassies to spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale aircraft, after they clashed in May in India and Pakistan, French military and intelligence officials have concluded that it involves Beijing in an effort to make the reputation and sales of French flagship fighters in France.
The Associated Press saw findings from French intelligence agencies that showed that defense annexes from Chinese foreign embassies have led to allegations of disrupting sales, trying to convince countries that have ordered French-made fighter jets, especially Indonesia, rather than buying more, and encourage other potential buyers to opt for Chinese-made aircraft. The findings were shared by French military officials with the AP on condition that officials and intelligence agencies were not named.
In May, India-Pakistan's four days were the worst confrontation between two nuclear-weapon neighbors, including air combat involving dozens of aircraft. Since then, military officials and researchers have been digging out how Pakistani China-made military hardware (especially fighter jets and air combat missiles) violates the weapons used by India on Pakistani targets, especially those of French-made fighters.
The sales of Lafelers and other arms are a huge business of the French defense industry and help the Paris government's efforts to strengthen ties with other countries, including Asia, which became a major regional power in China.
France is fighting against gusts of winds against so-called false information
Pakistan claimed in the fight that its air force shot down five Indian aircraft, including three gusts. French officials said this raised questions about the performance of the country they purchased fighter jets from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
India acknowledged the loss of the aircraft, but said little. French Air Force Chief Jérôme Bellanger said he saw only three Indian losses – Gusts, Russian-made Sukhoi and Mirage 2000, an earlier generation of French-made jets. This is the first known battle loss that France sold to eight countries.
“Of course, all those countries that bought Raphael asked themselves questions,” Bellager said.
French officials have been fighting to protect the planes from reputational damage, opposing what they call a congruent online carnival and false congruent campaign online from Pakistan and its allies China.
The sport includes viral posts on social media, manipulating images, showing supposed rainy days fragments, AI-generated content and video game descriptions to simulate what is called a battle, they said. As the India-Pakistan conflict broke out, more than 1,000 social media accounts in India-Pakistan clashes also spread narratives of China's technological advantages, according to French researchers specializing in online disinformation.
French military officials said they could not directly link the attack on the online carnival with the Chinese government.
Intelligence Assessment Says Chinese Officials Lobby Potential Customers to Drop French Aircraft
But the French Intelligence Agency said the Chinese Embassy's Ministry of Defense had the same narrative as their meetings with security and defense officials in other countries, saying that the Indian Air Force Raphael was underperforming and promoted the Chinese-made weapons.
The Intelligence Agency said the Department of Defense lobbying focused it on countries that ordered Rafales and other potential customers that were considering purchasing. It said French officials were informed of a meeting close to the country.
Beijing’s Defense Ministry asked the Associated Press to comment on the so-called efforts to curb gusts of appeal, “The relevant claims are pure rumor and slander.
In recent years, China has used the network of state-sponsored influencers, websites that constitute news organizations, and fake social media accounts to expand the movement of disinformation on global social media platforms such as X, Instagram or Facebook to spread narratives from Beijing.
The French Ministry of Defense said the gust was “a huge false propaganda campaign” and “trying to promote the advantages of alternative equipment, especially the advantages of Chinese design.”
France believes that jets are “strategic French products”
“Rawn is not a random target. It is a highly powerful fighter, exported abroad and deployed in high visibility theatres,” the Ministry of Defense wrote on its website.
“The gust is also targeted because it represents a strategic French product. By attacking the aircraft, some participants attempt to undermine the credibility of France and its defense industry and technology base. Therefore, disinformation is not only targeting the aircraft, but more broadly, a state's strategic autonomy, industrial reliability, image of solid partners.”
Dassault Air has sold 533 coats, including 323 exported to Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia. Indonesia has ordered 42 aircraft and is considering buying more.
Justin Bronk, an air force expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said China may want to undermine the security ties France has established with Asian countries by spreading concerns about the equipment it provides.
“From the perspective of limiting the influence of Western countries in the Indo-Pacific, it makes sense that China's performance using Pakistan's weapon system (or at least claiming performance performance) will reduce at least one gust as a tool to undermine its attractiveness as an export,” he said.
“They certainly saw opportunities that hurt the French sales prospects in the region.”
