India Blames Pakistani Warship for North Arabian Sea Collision With INS Kolkata
India says PNS Hunain collided with INS Kolkata in the North Arabian Sea after an unsafe manoeuvre; Pakistan blames the Indian warship.
India on Friday formally named INS Kolkata as the warship involved in a collision with a Pakistani naval vessel in international waters in the North Arabian Sea, three days after the incident, and accused the Pakistani ship of behaving in an unacceptable and unprofessional manner.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment in the western Arabian Sea when Pakistani Naval Ship Hunain acted in a way that led to the collision. He described the Pakistani vessel's overtaking manoeuvre as dangerous and said it violated Article 10 of the April 1991 India-Pakistan agreement on advance notice for military exercises, manoeuvres and troop movements, which bars naval units at sea from coming within three nautical miles of each other. The Pakistani ship, he added, also breached the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
Jaiswal said Pakistan had once again been advised that all military units must exercise due care and respect the relevant bilateral agreements to prevent a repeat of such incidents. He said the collision caused no major damage to INS Kolkata, which remains at sea.
The incident occurred on September 15, about 120 nautical miles from the Gulf of Oman. Indian Navy destroyers and frigates have been deployed in the North Arabian Sea for several months. Sources said PNS Hunain, an offshore patrol vessel often classified as a Yarmook-class corvette because of its combat suite, approached the Indian warship at high speed and manoeuvred in an unprofessional and unsafe manner, causing a minor collision.
On Wednesday, India summoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires and lodged a strong protest. Islamabad responded with a protest of its own, with Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoning the Charge d'Affaires of the Indian High Commission. Pakistan said its navy was conducting its biennial exercise SEASPARK-26 when the Indian vessel carried out aggressive manoeuvres in dangerously close proximity to a Pakistani naval ship, resulting in contact between the two vessels. Islamabad called the incident a highly provocative and unacceptable action by an Indian Navy vessel inside Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone.
Responding to Pakistan's account, Jaiswal said India had seen the response to its protest and rejected the allegations and insinuations contained in it, calling the Pakistani statement the usual prevarication.