India-Pakistan conflict escalated with missile exchanges and retaliatory strikes. US-brokered ceasefire efforts faced challenges with China's discontent over exclusion from mediation, leading to brief ceasefire violations before tension eased.

India’s missile and bomb strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir have prompted multiple attacks in retaliation between the nuclear-armed neighbors to the point that some are now calling it a de facto war.

The high-tech clash over South Asia could mark a symbolic shift in global military alignment and arms rivalry.