Baffled by the inclusion of Rafale fighter jets into the Indian Air Force (IAF), China recently made a desperate attempt to prove that its People's Liberation Army Air Force is not lacking behind. But, much to its own embarrassment, our neighbouring country failed miserably in making a point as netizens were able to call its bluff quite easily.
The claim
People's Daily, China, a state-affiliated media organisation, shared a video via its official Twitter account with the claim that it shows an actual military jet. In the short clip, a rather small-sized jet can be seen speeding along the runway before taking off and turning 90 degrees.
"Impressive training video of Chinese Aeronautical Establishment shows jet speeds along the runway before turning 90 degrees as it takes off with its nose pointing towards the sky," the caption of the post read.
Impressive training video of Chinese Aeronautical Establishment shows jet speeds along the runway before turning 90 degrees as it takes off with its nose pointing towards the sky. pic.twitter.com/uuQheNcsfO
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) September 8, 2020
The 9-second long clip has been viewed over 71,000 times, garnering 1,600 likes and over 400 retweets.
Fact-Check:
What China's People's Daily is projecting as a real military jet, is a mere remote-controlled aero model.
On taking a closer look at the clip, one can see another unit of the same aircraft parked behind a man. The size of the aircraft gives away the fact that it is not meant for a pilot to fly and is actually radio-controlled.
Soon, Indian Twitter users bombarded the post with comments, slamming the Chinese government for resorting to such pitiful tactics.
"How embarrassing China, model planes? If their pilots fly as poorly as their propagandists develop this nonsense, they are in bigger trouble than we all expected," said one Twitter user while another wrote, "It's not a real plane, it's an RC model aircraft. Grow up China."
Evidently, the tall claims made by the Chinese Communist Party owned publication regarding the aircraft in the clip are false.
India and China are engaged in a four-month-long standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues.
