🚨 Is China Trying to Sabotage Rafale Jet Deals? 🤔🇨🇳
- MediaFx
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
TL;DR: In the wake of May’s India‑Pakistan aerial clash (Operation Sindoor), French intelligence says China used its embassies worldwide to spread doubts about the Rafale fighter jet’s performance—urging countries like Indonesia to rethink buying it and pushing them toward Chinese jets instead. Beijing denies it, calling these allegations “groundless rumours.” #Rafale #China #Disinfo #Defence #OperationSindoor
🕵️♂️ What happened?
In early July 2025, French military and intelligence officials revealed that Chinese defence attachés sitting in embassies across the world were openly questioning the Rafale’s combat skills 😯, especially after it flew missions during the big air strikes in Operation Sindoor between India and Pakistan.
These diplomats straight-up lobbied potential buyers—like Indonesia—to pause or even cancel their Rafale orders ✋ and instead look at Chinese-made jets like the J‑10 ✈️. This was all happening while social media was flooded with posts mocking Rafales and praising Chinese planes 🖥️.
🎯 Why now? The backstory
In May 2025, India and Pakistan had a fierce air skirmish 💥. Pakistan claimed it shot down three Rafales, while India didn’t share official numbers, causing loads of confusion 🤷.
French intel says that in reality, only one Rafale was lost, plus a Russian Sukhoi and one Mirage 2000 ⚔️.
Just after this, a big disinformation campaign took off, mixing embassy lobbying and online trolling 😈. The goal? Make Rafales look weak and Chinese J-10s look like heroes 🦸.
🧩 What did China say?
China has completely denied all this 🤨. Their Defence Ministry called the reports “groundless rumours” and said China always acts “prudent and responsible” in military deals 🙅♂️.
🌍 Why this matters
Dassault Aviation has already sold 533 Rafales all over the world 🌐.
Even a little bit of bad press can scare away buyers, especially in Asia and Africa, where many countries are planning to spend crores on defence 💸.
France called this whole mess a “vast campaign of disinformation” meant to steal Rafale customers and sell cheaper Chinese jets instead 🤑.
🛠️ What does this signal?
Info-war is real: Diplomats are fighting battles with rumours and gossip now instead of just negotiations 🥷.
China flexing big time: Even one Rafale getting hit in battle is enough for China to shout “See? Our jets are better!” 🤐.
Defence buying = Politics: Countries are caught between Western and Chinese defence deals, and the public doesn’t even get the full truth 🗣️.
📰 MediaFx Opinion (People’s Perspective)
See, while all these governments fight over fighter jets, it’s the common people paying the bill 💰. Instead of building peace, they spend crores to show off power 💥. We deserve honest information, not shady rumours. From our side, this just shows how the public’s money is wasted on ego fights. ✊ Truth and peace matter more than any fighter jet.
💬 What do you think?
Should embassies stay away from defence deals?
Which jets do you trust more and why?
Drop your thoughts in comments—your opinion counts! 🙌
