I'd be happy to be proven wrong since we're all here to learn. But...
One of the only pictures I could find with the inside of this scoop lit with ambient light and you can CLEARLY see it doesn't connect to any sort of inlet. It's just a metal scoop. This should be pretty definitive. But if you still have doubts you can read on.
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Covers are not just for intakes. If a foreign object (like a bird or its attempt at starting a nest with sticks, or ice) can get in there and get stuck it needs a cover. Even pointy things get covers.
Aircraft are plenty asymmetric. You can see TWO pitot static probes on side and ONE on the other (which happens to be the side with the vortex generator). The vortex generator is probably an attempt at making the flow MORE symmetric:
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For the JF-17B:
The vortex generator is probably needed on the OTHER side as the A version as the original side got the hinges.
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It's way too small to be a secondary air-inlet for the engine. Those are much larger and no reason for them to be on one side only.
Anyway this isn't crazy important and I don't want to drag this out into an internet argument. Readers can see all posts and decide for themselves. Thanks.