India Summons Pakistani Diplomat Over Naval Collision in Arabian Sea

India has summoned Pakistan’s top diplomatic representative in New Delhi following a collision involving naval vessels from the two countries in the Arabian Sea.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday that a Pakistani naval ship collided with an Indian Navy warship in international waters on Tuesday.

Following the incident, India lodged a formal protest with Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

The ministry accused the Pakistani Navy of engaging in what it described as “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct,” which it said resulted in the collision.

Indian authorities said the incident was particularly concerning because it allegedly breached a 1991 bilateral agreement between the two countries governing the conduct of their naval forces at sea.

Under the agreement, naval ships and submarines belonging to India and Pakistan are required to maintain a distance of at least three nautical miles from one another while operating in international waters.

The Indian ministry said the Pakistani diplomat was asked to convey to Islamabad the importance of ensuring that the country’s military units comply with existing bilateral agreements.

India also instructed its Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad to lodge a similar protest with Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.

The Indian government said adherence to the existing agreements was necessary to prevent a recurrence of such incidents and reduce the risk of further military tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan had not immediately issued an official response to India’s allegations concerning the collision.

The incident comes against the backdrop of longstanding tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

It is also the first reported direct military incident between India and Pakistan since the two countries engaged in a four-day armed conflict last year.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have remained strained for several years.

India and Pakistan have not had ambassadors in each other’s capitals since 2019, when New Delhi revoked the special constitutional status of Indian-administered Kashmir, prompting a further deterioration in bilateral relations.

Kashmir remains one of the most contentious issues between the two countries.

India and Pakistan have fought three major wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, with two of those conflicts directly linked to the disputed region.

The latest naval incident is therefore being closely watched because any confrontation involving the military forces of the two nuclear-armed countries could increase tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

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