Trump Claims Modi Called to End India–Pakistan War; USCC Report Flags China’s Expanding Military Footprint

By Admin

21 Nov, 2025

In a renewed and controversial assertion, former U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally phoned him to halt the recent India–Pakistan war an allegation India continues to categorically reject. Trump, who has repeated this version of events more than 60 times, linked the supposed intervention to his threat of imposing a 350% tariff on both nations. According to him, this pressure helped end the four-day conflict and prevented what he described as a potential nuclear catastrophe with “nuclear dust over Los Angeles.”

India, however, has repeatedly stressed that no such phone call ever took place during or after the clashes, dismissing Trump’s recounting as entirely fictitious.

Trump’s remarks resurfaced just hours after the release of a two-page analysis in the 2025 Annual Report to Congress by the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC). The bipartisan commission highlighted China’s growing military influence and suggested that Beijing opportunistically used the brief conflict to showcase its expanding defense capabilities.

According to the report, an overwhelming 82% of Pakistan’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023 came from China. During the four-day engagement, Chinese systems reportedly played a decisive role, with the HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles and Wing Loong II drones making their combat debut. The USCC analysis states these systems intercepted Indian incursions, further strengthening China’s reputation as a rising global defense supplier.

The commission noted that although describing the conflict as a Chinese “proxy war” may overstate Beijing’s involvement, China used the situation to test, refine, and advertise its weapons. This approach, it said, aligns with China’s broader defense ambitions and its continuing border tensions with India. The report also referenced extensive pre-war military drills between China and Pakistan, including the Warrior-VIII land exercises in October 2024 and the AMAN-2025 naval maneuvers in February, which collectively improved joint readiness for contested airspace.

Even as the USCC underscored China’s widening military reach, Washington has been pursuing its own defense diplomacy under Trump. This week, his administration approved a $93 million sale of Javelin anti-tank systems and Excalibur precision projectiles to India a relatively small deal compared to the multi-billion-dollar packages aimed at Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the U.S. is attempting to counter China’s influence by encouraging Pakistan to reduce its dependence on Chinese weaponry.

The USCC report went further, accusing China of orchestrating a disinformation campaign after the ceasefire. Chinese state-linked actors allegedly used AI-generated deepfakes and doctored videos that depicted French Rafale jets malfunctioning. The misinformation reportedly contributed to Indonesia’s suspension of an $8.1 billion Rafale deal in June 2025, shifting Jakarta’s attention toward China’s J-35 stealth fighter.

The commission warned that the conflict has drawn renewed global attention to the China–Pakistan defense nexus, emphasizing that escalating military coordination in a region with nuclear capabilities poses serious risks.

On the India–China front, the report observed a persistent imbalance in how both countries prioritize resolving their prolonged border dispute. India, it said, has increasingly acknowledged the gravity of the threat, moving away from its earlier assessment of the issue as merely minor “acne on the face.” With China’s capabilities and assertiveness expanding, New Delhi’s strategic posture appears to be shifting.

The analysis concluded by noting that it remains uncertain whether the commitments expressed during the Modi–Xi meeting in Tianjin represent a temporary adjustment driven largely by India’s desire to hedge amid volatile U.S. trade negotiations or signal a more lasting step toward normalization between the two Asian giants.