Pakistan Summons Indian Envoy Over North Arabian Sea Naval Collision

Pakistan summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Thursday, lodging a formal protest over a collision between an Indian Navy warship and a Pakistan Navy vessel in the North Arabian Sea.

Islamabad described the September 15 incident as a "highly provocative and unacceptable action" that occurred within its Exclusive Economic Zone. In its statement, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Pakistan 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.

Pakistan said the incident amounted to a serious violation of international law and of the bilateral agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements, 1991, and risked escalating regional tensions. The Indian side was urged to adhere strictly to international law and bilateral agreements, particularly those aimed at preventing incidents at sea. Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires in New Delhi is to lodge a matching demarche with India's Ministry of External Affairs.

The collision occurred about 120 nautical miles from the Gulf of Oman. Official sources identified the Pakistani vessel as PNS Hunain, an offshore patrol vessel often listed as a Yarmook-class corvette because of its combat suite. It was damaged and headed to its home port. No damage was reported to the Indian warship, which continued its routine surveillance mission.

Indian sources have maintained that PNS Hunain closed in on the frontline Indian Navy warship at high speed, manoeuvring in an unprofessional and unsafe manner and causing a minor collision. On Wednesday, India summoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires over what New Delhi called the unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units.

The episode recalled an earlier collision at sea between the two navies. On June 16, 2011, the Pakistani warship PNS Babur brushed past the Indian frigate INS Godavari in the Gulf of Aden, causing minor damage to the Indian warship's helicopter safety net. India described the approach as dangerously close and a violation of navigational regulations, and later lodged a formal protest by summoning the Pakistan High Commission's naval advisor. The then Defence Minister, A K Antony, made a statement in Parliament on the violation.