Three Things the CDS Interviews in Singapore Tell Us

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, broke new ground with his candid interviews to Bloomberg and Reuters at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday (May 31), offering rare official insight into the recent India-Pakistan conflict. 

Here are three key takeaways from his remarks:

1. The IAF lost fighter jets on the first night

For the first time, a senior Indian official confirmed that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets on the opening night of Operation Sindoor, the military campaign launched by India after the Pahalgam terror attack. General Chauhan acknowledged these “initial losses” were the result of tactical errors, refusing to confirm the exact numbers though he rejected Pakistan’s claim of downing six Indian jets as “absolutely incorrect”. He emphasised that the focus should be on understanding why the losses occurred and how the mistakes were rectified, rather than the number of jets lost.

2. The IAF didn’t fly all its fighter jets for two days after the losses

After suffering these losses, the IAF paused its full-scale operations for nearly two days. During this period, tactics were reviewed and corrected. “We were able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range,” General Chauhan told Bloomberg. This operational pause, with at least certain aircraft, allowed the IAF to regroup and return with precision strikes deep inside Pakistan, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.

3. Pakistan’s military leadership was mature and rational

Despite the intensity of the conflict, General Chauhan noted that both sides displayed “rationality” and maturity, avoiding escalation to the nuclear threshold. “In every step that happened during Operation Sindoor, I found both sides displaying a lot of rationality in their thoughts as well as actions,” he said to Reuters. He dismissed suggestions that either side was close to using nuclear weapons as “far-fetched,” and pointed out that communication channels remained open, helping to manage the crisis.

In sum, General Chauhan’s Singapore interviews mark a significant shift toward openness about military setbacks and successes, and underscore the complex nature of recent India-Pakistan hostilities. His remarks have triggered calls for greater transparency in official communications from the Modi government, as these important revelations were made on foreign soil.

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