RT's recent comments on the Rafale fighter jet have created diplomatic speculation in the international community. The Russian state-run media outlet has been questioning the capabilities of the Rafale fighter jet and promoting its own Sukhoi-57E jet as superior. However, this Rafale was successfully used by India in Balakot in 2019, which sent a direct military message inside Pakistan.
More significantly, RT is now also negatively portraying Indonesia's potential Rafale deal. This is particularly noteworthy because RT's commentary is very much in line with the tone of the Pakistani media—which has always been sarcastic about Rafale. This raises the question—is Russia indirectly supporting Pakistan's position?
In this situation, a big question has come to the fore: Is RT a neutral media outlet, or is it a tool to protect Russia's military and strategic interests? The reason for Russia's concern is also clear—India and Indonesia are increasingly showing interest in Western technology. This is putting pressure on Russia’s arms trade. Once a reliable buyer, India relied mainly on Russian technology, but now Delhi is focusing on closer defense cooperation with countries such as the United States, France, Israel, etc.
It is also true that India is still Russia’s largest defense partner. But India’s increasingly diverse defense strategies and technology choices clearly demonstrate that Delhi is no longer confined to a single camp. Rather, India is moving forward by maintaining diplomatic balance in the complex landscape of current world politics.
In this context, questions arise about RT’s role—is it spreading Russian state propaganda in the name of journalism? And will Russia’s biased stance ultimately cast a shadow over the long-standing defense relationship with India? Only time will tell.
