A U.S. congressional report said China used the short border war between India and Pakistan in May to test and promote its advanced weapons and detection systems. The bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said “Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons,” and said Chinese embassies highlighted the performance of the equipment to “bolster weapons sales.” (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)
Air India is reportedly lobbying the Indian government to obtain permission from China to fly over Xinjiang to make up for the fact that the Pakistani airspace remains closed to Indian flights following the May war. Air India, which resumed flights to China this month, is requesting routing and access in case of diversions to airports in Hotan, Kashgar, and Urumqi in Xinjiang. Its fuel costs on flights to North America have reportedly jumped 29% because it can’t fly over Pakistan. (REUTERS)
