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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 19th, 2025: How China Helped Pakistan Shoot Down Indian Jets & IDF Begins Massive Ground Offensive In Gaza
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My name is Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. I was just talking to a friend of mine who said he hasn't been able to follow the news lately. It's been too much, it's too crazy. It's driving him crazy and he's just checked out. If you feel that way sometimes too, I think you'll really like our podcast Politics by Faith. We take the main story of the day and we run it through the Bible. What does the Bible say about this? It's amazing, but it's all there. And then God tells us what to do. We don't even have to figure it out. The answers are right there. He gives us the answers. Politics by Faith. Please join us over there. You can listen to it wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. Politics by faith.
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It's Monday the 19th of May. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, an update on the current and admittedly somewhat fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan as we learn that China played a direct role in helping the Pakistani military shoot down Indian fighter jets during the brief clash over Kashmir earlier this month. We'll discuss the implications for regional stability later in the show. Israel begins large scale ground operations against the Gaza Strip as part of a major new offensive that aims to dismantle Hamas remaining military capabilities and take full control of the battered enclave. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Amid the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan, we're now learning that China played a direct role in assisting Islamabad and in the shooting down of Indian fighter jets earlier this month, a revelation that risks deepening tensions between the nuclear armed neighbors. According to Indian defense officials, Chinese military advisers assisted Pakistan in repositioning its radar systems and satellite coverage just days before the aerial clash, enabling Islamabad to track Indian aircraft, weaponry and troop movements in in real time. The collaboration reportedly followed the 22 April terror attack in Indian administered Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead, an assault New Delhi insists was a work of Islamabad backed Islamic terrorists. Pakistan, of course, continues to deny any involvement or responsibility. Ashok Kumar, director general of the center for Joint Warfare Studies in New Delhi, that's a think tank under India's Ministry of Defense, told reporters that Chinese personnel worked side by side with Pakistani forces to recalibrate the air defense systems and enhance surveillance capabilities ahead of the confrontation. Now, as we covered here on the pdb, India responded to the Kashmir attack with cross border airstrikes on 7 May targeting what it claimed were nine terrorist camps operating inside Pakistani territory. Islamabad countered with its own show of force, claiming it shot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French made twin engine fighters. India has yet to confirm or deny the alleged losses. Crucially, Pakistani forces utilized Chinese made J10C jets in the retaliatory strikes, also deploying The Beijing developed PL15 long range air to air missile which had never been used in combat before. That detail has alarmed defense analysts across Asia, particularly in Taiwan, which could face similar tactics in future conflict. Adding to the intrigue, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishak Dar told Parliament that a high level Chinese diplomatic and military delegation led by Beijing's ambassador was already at the Foreign Ministry on the morning of the strikes. Dar said, quote, we apprised them about all the developments taking place until that time and they were very happy, end quote. Behind the scenes, analysts from the center for Joint Warfare Studies believe Beijing may have used the skirmish to field test its defense tech under live combat conditions. Officially, India has not confirmed China's role and Beijing, for its part, has issued no denial. Still, in a carefully worded statement on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry called for maintaining a, quote, full and lasting ceasefire, adding that it would continue to play a, quote, constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Now, I'm not sure if constructive role means what they think it means. As we noted last week, President Trump announced what he described as a, quote, immediate ceasefire on 10 May following high level engagement with both New Delhi and Islamabad. The truce has largely held so far, but analysts warn the region remains on edge after what many describe as the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear rivals in more than four decades. Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Dar is currently in Beijing for a three day visit where he's expected to hold, quote, in depth discussions with his Chinese counterpart on regional security and the broader bilateral relationship. As Pakistan and China tighten military and diplomatic ties, India faces a growing strategic challenge, grappling with Islamabad's cross border militancy and but also Beijing's role as a silent power broker in South Asia. Now the situation is a very interesting example of shifting alliances and geopolitical landscapes. The script has been flipped essentially over the past several years with India, long an ally of Russia and the former Soviet Union now aligning itself more closely with the US While Pakistan, once a relatively close ally of the US now building closer alliances with both Russia and China. Coming up next, Israel begins large scale ground operations across the Gaza Strip. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, this July there's going to be a very important meeting that you should know about. It's a global summit of BRICS nations in Rio de Janeiro. Now, the bloc of emerging superpowers. It includes China and Russia and India and Iran. 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And that Rio reset, just text PDB to the number 989898 today. Mike Baker here. Now, for those of you in the U.S. the upcoming memorial Day holiday, it's, it's not just a long weekend. You know that first and foremost. Well, it's a chance to remember all of those who have served and sacrificed. But then, yes, it is a long weekend and it's also the kickoff to grilling season. Now let me tell you, if your grill could talk, which admittedly would be odd, it would be begging for something better than just grocery store beef. That's why I order from Tritails Beef. Look, Tritails is a real Texas ranch, fifth generation ranch, not a faceless meat corporation. Tritails ships pasture raised graze finished black Angus beef straight from their family ranch to your front door. There's no gimmicks, there's no middlemen, just real premium beef delivering great taste in every cut. Right now for Memorial Day, you can get $20 off their rib eye and New York strip specials. And if you go to tribe.com PDB they'll throw in two free flat iron steaks with your order. Stock up now. That's tribe.com PDB. Your grill and your taste buds will thank you. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. With ceasefire talks stalled between Israel and Hamas, leaders in Jerusalem are taking the fight directly back to the terrorist organization in Gaza, aiming to ultimately break the group's hold over the enclave. Over the weekend, the Israeli military announced the launch of a major new ground offensive across the Gaza Strip, hitting more than 670 Hamas terror targets and killing dozens of militants, including a senior member of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. That's a group that operates under the Hamas umbrella. The offensive follows a week of intensified airstrikes launched by the Israeli Air Force across Gaza and vows by Prime Minister Netanyahu to eradicate Hamas once and for all. According to a report from ABC News, the campaign, which is expected to last a year barring any diplomatic breakthroughs, seeks to achieve, quote, all the goals of the war in Gaza. By destroying Hamas's military and governing capabilities and taking full control of the Gaza Strip, Israeli leaders hope to apply enough sustained pressure to force the terror group into agreeing to a ceasefire and releasing the remaining hostages. While details of the ground offensive are not yet entirely clear, in a statement on Sunday, the IDF said, quote, over the past day, IDF troops in the southern command, both the standing army and reserves, began a broad ground operation throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip as part of the start of Operation Gideon's Chariots, end quote. The campaign's name is a reference to the biblical figure of Gideon, a military leader and judge in ancient Israel who was said to have led the Jewish people to victory against their adversaries. As we previously discussed on the pdb, the sweeping plan to expand their military campaign to seize and hold the entirety of the Gaza Strip was unanimously approved by Israel's Security cabinet back on 5 May. IDF officials said their troops had already, quote, dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites above and below ground and are currently being deployed in key positions within Gaza. They're particularly focused on destroying Hamas's remaining weapons depots, terror cells, tunnel networks and anti tank launch sites. That's according to a report from the New York Post. Officials said five army divisions numbering tens of thousands of soldiers are involved in the new offensive, though as of Sunday night they had yet to reach the center of major cities like Gaza City and Khan Younis as they did in the early days of the war following Hamas brutal 7 October attacks. The collateral damage of the renewed offensive already appears to be quite high, with the Hamas run Ministry of Health claiming Israeli airstrikes over the weekend killed at least 103 people. Though as always, we should note that those figures do not differentiate between civilians and terrorist fighters. Officials with the IDF blamed Hamas for the civilian deaths, saying the group was still primarily operating in residential areas in order to use the local population as human shields. On Monday, the IDF warned residents of the southern city of Khan Yunis to evacuate to the coast immediately as they gear up for a major attack. As we touched on last week, Israel said the campaign will likely displace roughly half of Gaza's civilian population and over 1 million of the enclave's roughly 2.3 million population. Critically, unlike past operations inside Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, IDF forces will remain inside captured areas of the enclave after the operation is completed in order to prevent Hamas from reconstituting. Meanwhile, in a somewhat surprising reversal, Netanyahu said Monday that as the operation unfolds, Israel will lift their blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza in order to address the looming threat of widespread famine. The shift in policy is thought to be due to increased pressure put on Israeli leaders by the Trump White House and other key allies, who argued that extending the blockade would risk undermining international support for Israel's efforts to destroy Hamas. On the diplomatic front, Israeli officials resumed indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday, though reports indicate that little progress has been made, Israel has maintained their position that to end the war, all of the remaining 58 hostages, living and dead, must be released and that the terror group must demilitarize and exit Gaza forever. Hamas has flatly rejected those terms, instead demanding a ceasefire that sees Israel withdraw from the enclave before the remaining hostages are freedom. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Monday 19th May. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB@the FIRSTTV.com and of course, as you've no doubt heard from family and friends, if you want to listen to the show ad free, well, simply become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com See, I told you it was simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. 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