Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan due to the terror attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. In this context, a video (here, here, here, and here) of military tankers firing in large numbers in an isolated hilly location is being shared on social media, claiming that China is performing military drills near the Himalayas after the Pahalgam terror attack. We will fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Video of China conducting military exercises in the Himalayas after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Fact: This video has been available on the internet even before the terror attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. According to news reports published by Chinese media outlets, this video shows a ‘combat shooting assessment’ conducted by the Chinese army. Therefore, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To learn more details about the viral claim, we performed a reverse image search using some keyframes from the viral video. This search led us to a few Chinese news reports (here, here) that contain this video.
A media organisation named ‘Flamingwheelsmedia’ also uploaded this video on Instagram on 12 April 2025. Hence, it is clear that the video is unrelated to the tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025.
In a news article published about this video, the Chinese media outlet ‘Xinhuanet’ stated that these visuals show a multi-subject, multi-ammunition, multi-firearm combat shooting assessment conducted by a ‘certain army unit’ of the Chinese army. However, there is no information about the location of the assessment in these articles.
Although we could not independently verify the location of these exercises, since the video predates the Pahalgam attack which happened on 22 April 2025, it can be concluded that it is unrelated to the current India – Pakistan tensions.
To sum up, an old video is being shared with a claim that China is conducting military exercises near the Himalayas, following the terror attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025.
