N ARENDRA MODI, India’s prime minister, sounded as defiant as he did triumphant in speaking to the nation two days after a ceasefire with Pakistan. India’s four-day military operation, he said on May 12th,

India also has a long-standing policy of refusing to allow foreign mediation when it comes to the status of Muslim-majority Kashmir - a disputed region claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety - which has been at the center of the latest conflict with Pakistan and which India regards as a strictly internal matter.

The recent conflict between India and Pakistan is prompting a reassessment of Chinese weapons, challenging long-held perceptions of their inferiority to Western arms and sparking concern in places wary of Beijing.