Once dominated by Soviet knock-offs, plenty of high-tech Chinese weaponry is now on par with its Western equivalents. In some areas, the country may even have a technological lead. In the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, advanced Chinese weapons went head-to-head with Western and Russian counterparts for the first time—giving Pakistan a fighting edge.

Jeremy Page, The Economist’s Asia diplomatic editor, and Shashank Joshi, our defence editor, ask: what role did Chinese weapons play in the latest India-Pakistan flare-up? And what might that mean for the future of warfare in Asia—and beyond?