Pakistan has equipped more than 300 YJ-17 missiles? The online debate between Indian and Pakistani netizens has stunned the Chinese side!

Recently, a claim that "the Pakistani Army has already deployed more than 300 Chinese-made YJ-17 hypersonic missiles" sparked heated discussions on South Asian social media platforms. The post was made by a Pakistani blogger, who confidently claimed that these missiles have a final speed exceeding 8 Mach and are capable of "paralyzing India's strategic system with one strike." As soon as the news broke out, Indian netizens immediately jumped in to refute it, leading to an intense back-and-forth argument. Meanwhile, China — neither confirmed nor denied it, but just silently watched this farce, probably thinking: "What's going on here?"

To understand how absurd this story is, we need to start with the YJ-17 itself. Hypersonic weapons are currently the most cutting-edge strategic strike systems globally, and even the United States has not yet mass-deployed similar equipment. China has strict export controls on such weapons, and there is no evidence so far that China has exported hypersonic missiles to any country, let alone delivering 300 at once. It should be noted that even the conventional YJ-12 anti-ship missile is only integrated into the JF-17 Block III fighter jets in Pakistan, with limited quantities and requiring Chinese approval for each batch.

So why did a Pakistani blogger make such an exaggerated statement? This actually reflects a typical phenomenon in the military-related public opinion of South Asia: information vacuum leads to imaginative propaganda. India and Pakistan have been in a high-intensity military standoff for a long time, and their people are extremely sensitive to "technological gaps." Once there is any sign of change, it tends to turn into emotional statements like "we have a super weapon" or "you can't stop us at all." Such so-called "exposés" in the era of social media are amplified by algorithms, making it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood, and they become fuel for nationalist emotions.

Dao Ge thinks he understands both sides' feelings, but it's necessary to respect the basic objective facts. Every time he sees such news, he is stunned speechless. He doesn't know how to explain it.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855611891568640/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.