MC EXCLUSIVE Operation Sindoor fallout: Govt may rethink China flight resumption after intel links Red Dragon to Pakistan

Kailash Mansarovar

The Indian government is reassessing its plan to resume direct commercial flights to China following new intelligence reports suggesting that Beijing may have provided operational support to Pakistan during last month’s military conflict with India, government officials told Moneycontrol.

The rethink comes in the wake of findings from the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CJWS), a think tank under the Ministry of Defence, which allege that China helped Pakistan redeploy its air defense systems and offered satellite-based intelligence during the May 2025 conflict.

According to officials familiar with the matter, a high-level task force has been constituted to independently verify these claims before proceeding with any civil aviation agreements with China.

“If it’s established that China played a substantial role in aiding Pakistan’s military actions, the plan to restart flights will likely be shelved for the foreseeable future,” a senior government official said, on condition of anonymity.

Emailed queries to the Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation, as well as to IndiGo and Air India, went unanswered at the time of publishing.

CJWS Director General Ashok Kumar stated in a recent interview that Chinese support allowed Pakistan to reconfigure its radar coverage, giving it strategic awareness of potential Indian aerial activity. While Pakistan has openly used Chinese-made weaponry in the past, Kumar’s claims—if validated—point to deeper logistical and intelligence collaboration.

The Indo-Pak clash in early May, triggered by the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people, escalated into one of the fiercest confrontations between the two countries in two decades, involving airstrikes, drone incursions, and missile exchanges. India has held Pakistan directly responsible for orchestrating the attack, and the revelation of possible Chinese backing has prompted a wider reassessment of bilateral relations with Beijing.

Passenger flight operations between India and China remained suspended after the COVID-19 pandemic and a deadly June 2020 clash in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, which resulted in the death of at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops. Since then, India has restricted Chinese investments, banned numerous Chinese apps, and halted direct passenger air services, though cargo operations remained active.

The latest tension comes at a time when India and China had been preparing to resume direct flights. Talks had progressed to the point of finalising routes for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra this summer, and discussions were also underway for services between Indian metros and Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Kunming.

Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India and Tibet Airlines were being considered for the proposed routes, and the next round of bilateral talks was expected to take place in June. That timeline now appears uncertain.

“The security implications of resuming civil aviation ties with China are now being examined in the light of fresh intelligence,” one official said. “The priority is national interest.”

The Indian government has recently taken other security-driven actions, including the suspension of Turkish ground-handling firm Celebi’s Indian operations.

According to aviation and military analyst Lokesh Sharma, the potential consequences may go beyond aviation. “If these findings are corroborated, we may see a broad-based diplomatic and economic distancing from China,” Sharma told Moneycontrol.

India and China had announced a breakthrough on direct flights in January 2025 after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Both sides had “agreed in principle” to restore air connectivity, with an understanding that operational details would be worked out soon.

China had also allowed the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a five-year pause. The pilgrimage, which draws thousands of Hindu devotees each year, was expected to be a central factor in restarting flights, particularly to Lhasa Gonggar Airport.

Before the COVID-19 suspension, more than 500 direct flights operated monthly between India and China. Chinese carriers such as Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern accounted for the bulk of these routes, with Air India and IndiGo also running services to cities like Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.

With the geopolitical calculus rapidly shifting, those plans are now in jeopardy—grounded not by a pandemic, but by security concerns tied to a volatile regional rivalry.