French military and intelligence officials have levelled explosive allegations that China is systematically deploying its global diplomatic network to damage the combat credibility of France’s flagship multirole fighter, the Rafale.
According to an investigative report by the Associated Press, quoting senior French officials speaking on strict condition of anonymity, Beijing’s embassies have been working quietly to seed doubt about the Rafale’s performance in the aftermath of the dramatic India-Pakistan aerial clash this past May.
At the centre of these allegations is a claim that Chinese defence attachés stationed in embassies have directly lobbied countries that have already signed billion-dollar Rafale procurement contracts, including Indonesia, urging them to reconsider their purchases and instead pivot towards Chinese-made combat aircraft.
French military analysts believe the disinformation push is directly tied to the four days of intense India-Pakistan skirmishes, the most dangerous standoff in years between the two nuclear-armed archrivals, which saw dozens of aircraft launched by both sides into high-stakes dogfights across contested airspace.
In these engagements, India’s frontline squadrons deployed their newly-inducted Rafales for deep strike missions against Pakistani targets, pitting French aerospace technology head-to-head against the growing arsenal of Chinese-made warplanes and advanced beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles fielded by the Pakistan Air Force.
Pakistan, for its part, has boldly claimed its fighters shot down five Indian aircraft during the hostilities, among them three Rafale jets — a claim that, if verified, would mark one of the most significant combat losses for the Dassault-built platform since it entered operational service.
French officials, however, have pushed back fiercely, accusing Pakistan — and by extension, its close strategic partner China — of orchestrating an “industrial-scale campaign of Rafale-bashing” designed to stoke doubts among prospective buyers, particularly in the booming Southeast Asian market.
Behind the scenes, the reputational stakes are enormous.
France’s defence industry views the Rafale not merely as a combat-proven multirole asset but as a diplomatic bridge that binds Paris to key partners in Asia and the Middle East at a time when Beijing is accelerating its own defence exports across the Global South.
Data from Dassault Aviation indicates the Rafale has secured 533 orders to date, with 323 units exported to strategic clients such as Egypt, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the UAE, Serbia, India, and Indonesia.
Indonesia alone has inked deals worth an estimated USD 8.1 billion (approximately RM38 billion) for 42 Rafales and is reportedly weighing follow-on options, placing Jakarta squarely in Beijing’s crosshairs as it expands the market share for its Chengdu J-10C and JF-17 Block III fighters.
French military researchers monitoring digital disinformation say the smear campaign rapidly escalated as the India-Pakistan clashes unfolded.
More than 1,000 freshly-created social media accounts allegedly began pumping out videos, manipulated imagery of so-called Rafale wreckage, AI-generated content, and even video-game footage falsely depicted as real combat footage to show the French fighter in a poor light.
While Paris acknowledges it cannot conclusively trace every disinformation node to the Chinese state, French intelligence agencies argue there is a clear pattern linking the online attacks with diplomatic lobbying by Chinese defence attachés in key regional capitals.
These attaches have reportedly repeated the same narrative lines in closed-door meetings with military and procurement officials in capitals from Jakarta to Abu Dhabi — a narrative claiming that Indian Rafales fared poorly in combat while championing Chinese-built jets as cheaper, more reliable, and technologically superior alternatives.
A senior French official familiar with the briefings told AP that multiple Asian governments privately alerted Paris that Chinese embassy officials were circulating unverified claims about Rafale’s so-called “combat failure” during the subcontinental skirmish.
For France, the stakes are as much about strategic credibility as they are about big-ticket defence revenue.
Rafale exports inject billions into the French economy — each airframe sells for roughly USD 115 million (around RM540 million) depending on configuration and support packages — and help Paris reinforce its status as a reliable partner for smaller nations hedging against growing Chinese military influence.
In a pointed statement posted on its official website, the French Ministry for Armed Forces called the allegations part of “a vast campaign of disinformation” explicitly crafted to “promote the supposed superiority of alternative equipment, notably of Chinese design.”
“The Rafale was not randomly targeted,” the Ministry stressed.
“It is a highly capable fighter jet, exported abroad and deployed in a high-visibility theatre.”
For its part, Beijing’s Ministry of National Defence has flatly rejected the allegations, dismissing them as “groundless rumours and slander,” and reiterating that China “has consistently maintained a prudent and responsible approach to military exports, playing a constructive role in regional and global peace and stability.”
Behind the diplomatic denials, however, looms a larger contest for influence in Asia’s rapidly shifting air combat landscape.
India’s political leadership has refused to confirm the precise number of combat losses during the May skirmishes, adding fuel to speculation and online misinformation.
Meanwhile, Dassault’s marketing teams are now working overtime with Parisian diplomats to reassure clients like Jakarta that the Rafale remains one of the world’s most advanced and battle-proven platforms — a claim they argue is underwritten by its NATO service record and combat deployments in Syria, Libya, and the Sahel.
As China continues to push its Chengdu J-10CE and FC-31 export offerings, analysts expect Southeast Asia to remain a critical battleground for aerospace deals worth tens of billions of dollars over the next decade — deals that will shape the region’s aerial balance of power as US influence recedes and Chinese military might surges.
With nuclear-capable India doubling down on its Rafale fleet to counter Chinese and Pakistani advances in long-range air combat, and with Indonesia’s procurement still moving ahead despite the noise, the real test will be whether the French jet can hold its ground in a theatre increasingly defined by Beijing’s hybrid toolkit of military diplomacy, grey-zone tactics, and digital psychological operations.
SNIPPET
French military and intelligence sources claim China has orchestrated a broad disinformation effort, using embassies and online trolls, to damage Rafale fighter jet sales and credibility after Indian losses in May’s aerial clash with Pakistan.