News Brief
India Views China As Its ‘Primary Adversary’, Pakistan As 'Ancillary Security Problem’: US Intel Document
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has said that Pakistan sees India as an "existential threat", while India views China as its main adversary and treats Pakistan as a secondary security concern.
In it worldwide Threat Assessment Report for 2025, DIA said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will probably focus on demonstrating global leadership, countering China, and enhancing New Delhi’s military power.
"India views China as its primary adversary and Pakistan more an ancillary security problem to be managed, despite cross-border attacks in mid-May by both India’s and Pakistan’s militaries," the report said, referring to the India-Pakistan conflict earlier in this month after Indian airstrikes targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
"Following a late April terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi conducted missile strikes on terrorism-related infrastructure facilities in Pakistan. The missile strike provoked multiple rounds of missile, drone, and loitering munition attacks, and heavy artillery fire, by both militaries from 7 to 10 May. As of 10 May, both militaries had agreed to a full ceasefire," the report said.
The report said that India is prioritising bilateral defence partnerships in the Indian Ocean region through exercises, training, arms sales, and information sharing to counter Chinese influence and boost its leadership role.
"India also has increased trilateral engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and actively participates in multilateral fora such as the Quadrilateral, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN," the report said.
The report said the 2024 India-China disengagement agreement eased some tensions from the 2020 border clash but "did not resolve the longstanding dispute about border demarcation but reduced some tension still lingering".
"India almost certainly will continue promoting its "Made in India" initiative this year to build its domestic defense industry, mitigate supply chain concerns, and modernize its military India continued to modernize its military in 2024, conducting a test of the nuclear-capable developmental Agni-I Prime MRBM and the Agni-V multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle while also commissioning its second nuclear-powered submarine to strengthen its nuclear triad and bolster its ability to deter adversaries," it said.
"Under Modi, India has reduced its procurement of Russian-origin military equipment but still relies on Russian spare parts to maintain and sustain its large inventory of Russian-origin tanks and fighter aircraft that form the backbone of its military's ability to counter perceived threats from China and Pakistan," it said.
The DIA, an arm of the US Department of Defense, specialises in assessing military threats worldwide.
Pakistan’s military, according to the report, remains preoccupied with cross-border tensions, growing TTP and Baloch rebel attacks, counterterrorism, and nuclear upgrades.
"Pakistan regards India as an existential threat and will continue to pursue its military modernization effort, including the development of battlefield nuclear weapons, to offset India's conventional military advantage," the report said.
"Pakistan is modernizing its nuclear arsenal and maintaining the security of its nuclear materials and nuclear command and control. Pakistan almost certainly procures WMD-applicable goods from foreign suppliers and intermediaries," the report said. WMD refers to Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The report noted that Pakistan "primarily is a recipient of China’s economic and military largesse, and Pakistani forces conduct multiple combined military exercises every year with China’s PLA, including a new air exercise completed in November 2024".
"Foreign materials and technology supporting Pakistan's WMD programs are very likely acquired primarily from suppliers in China, and sometimes are transshipped through Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. However, terrorist attacks targeting Chinese workers who support China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects has emerged as a point of friction between the countries; seven Chinese nationals were killed in Pakistan in 2024," it said.
