By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-31 22:16:20 | Updated at 2025-01-03 21:31:30
2 days ago
News of China’s latest warplane, widely believed to be a sixth-generation model, has triggered a debate in India about how best to respond amid warnings of a growing “strategic gap”.
The aircraft, believed to feature cutting-edge stealth and endurance capabilities, surprised the world when details first emerged last week.
The aircraft’s capabilities could mean a major shift in aerial dominance, posing a potential threat to global military powers, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, said The Economic Times, India’s leading business newspaper.
“As tensions rise with the United States over issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, the J-36 [the plane’s speculative name] serves as both a symbol of China’s growing strength and a practical asset for expanding its military influence,” it said.
It signals a “huge leap” and increases the pressure on India to modernise its military, according to Pradip R. Sagar, a senior editor with India Today, a major English-language news magazine in India.
“With tensions already high along the Line of Actual Control, [the disputed Himalayan border between the two countries] the jet could widen the strategic gap between the two nations,” he wrote.
