~ Linn Maung ~

Pakistan’s reliance on Chinese-supplied military equipment has cost it dearly as they failed to counter India’s precision strikes effectively as well as struggled to attack the targets during the recent clashes. The episode has brought to the limelight how several Asian and African countries have encountered problems with the weapons procured from China, thus raising questions over the quality, efficiency, and reliability of Chinese equipment.

Bangladesh has been procuring weapons in all three formats—army, navy, and air force- for many years now. Several types of military equipment have been reported to have developed snags. Bangladesh found the snag in the firing of the ammunition loaded into the K-8W aircraft procured from China. Moreover, Dhaka expressed concerns over poor after-sale services and an inadequate supply of Chinese-built 40 MBT2000 tanks. Two Frigates named BNS Abu Ubaidah and BNS Umar Farooq procured from China remained docked at the port as they developed severe technical problems.

While the political ties and affordability were major reasons for Myanmar to rely on China for its military needs, the frequent snags have created problems. Most of the Chinese JF-17 fighter jets were grounded within a few years after they were purchased from China. Myanmar defence forces even could not use those operational ones due to poor accuracy and frequent malfunctioning.

In 2024, the state television MRTV reported a crash of a fighter jet due to a technical fault. The malfunctioning of Chinese fighter jets has aggravated the aviation accidents in Myanmar. In 2018, an F-7 jet fighter crashed into a paddy field while a Chinese-built Shaanxi Y8 accident caused the death of dozens of Myanmar’s soldiers.  Myanmar’s Airforce has ended up paying a huge sum for procurement of Chinese fighter planes, of which most were malfunctioning, found the Burmese news organisation The Irrawaddy.

African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya too suffered due to faulty military equipment provided by China. Nigerian Airforce has been witnessing crashes since it purchased 12 F-7Ni from Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. It had to send 70 percent of its air fleet back to China due to maintenance issues, as planes reported problems such as failing to take off, exploding or crashing. “The Chinese F-7s have suffered significant attrition since its acquisition, with five to six aircraft already lost to various accidents,” said Military Africa, a defence industry consultant firm.

Nigeria faced huge problems and embarrassment when the F-7s could not fly at night and help its troops during a conflict with Boko Haram in 2018.  The failure of Chinese jets to operate effectively and smoothly, besides big maintenance issues, has led Nigeria to procure Italian-made M-346FA fighter jets now.  Chinese fighter jet system has huge operations and maintenance costs compared to a modern weapon system.

Several Kenyan security personnel were killed after the Chinese armoured personnel carrier (APC) NORINCO VN-4 failed to protect them from improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, landmines and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). Over 30 Kenyan security personnel lost their lives due to incapable Chinese APCs, which led the government to make silent efforts to find better alternatives. Notably, the supplier of the Chinese APC had refused to travel in the NORINCO VN-4, which made Kenyan officials nervous about its usability.

The frequent deaths of Kenyan security personnel brought the Chinese APC under the scanner as the expensive military equipment failed to in its expectations of ensuring the safety of the armed forces. Security consultant and former US marine Andrew Franklin tore into the Chinese APC and called them much inferior to even those manufactured by Kenya. “The APCs that were imported were not built to be used in combat zones, but rather were designed for use in urban areas and would be suitable for dispersing protesters,” he said.

Thailand had signed a deal with China to procure three submarines for USD 1.1. billion. However, it later threatened to cancel the deal after it found that the Chinese MWM 620 engines were poor in quality, thus demanding the installation of a German-made MTU 396 engine instead. Nepal had to face embarrassment after the Chinese aircraft it procured remained a non-starter, thus it decided to sell them.

Earlier, Nepal Airlines had complained to the government about Chinese aircraft causing huge losses in relation to operations and maintenance. “We have been holding talks with the government to get rid of the Chinese planes,” said Madan Kharel, the then executive chairman of Nepal Airlines. Even the procurement of medical equipment by the Nepalese Army from China led to an uproar in the country as concerns were raised over the quality of the material used.

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