A tense silence settled over India and Pakistan as millions woke Thursday: no more missiles had been fired, schools in most areas had reopened and both sides appeared to be claiming victory.

Pakistan, which has imported a bulk of the defense equipment including J-10C fighter jets, claimed to have shot down five Indian planes, including a French Rafale jet. This led to speculation that Chinese defense platforms may have been deployed in the conflict,

Pakistan is China’s “iron brother,” but full support is a bridge too far when Beijing would much prefer de-escalation to an expanded conflict.