India Summons Pakistan Envoy After Naval Ships Collide in International Waters
New Delhi: India on September 16 lodged a strong protest with Pakistan after a Pakistani naval unit collided with a vessel of the Indian Navy in international waters, saying the incident amounted to “unacceptable and unprofessional” conduct and violated a 1991 bilateral agreement governing the movement of military forces.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said the Charge d’Affaires was summoned to convey India’s protest over the conduct of the Pakistani naval units “at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy”. The incident took place in international water and “did not cause any major damage”, it said.
However, the MEA said the conduct of the Pakistani naval ship was in “direct contravention” of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991.
The specific clause stipulates that naval ships and submarines belonging to the two countries should not come within three nautical miles of each other while operating in international waters, in order to prevent accidents.
The Pakistani Charge d’Affaires was advised to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities “the need for all military units to observe due care and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two sides in order to prevent any repeat of such incidents”, the ministry said.
The MEA did not name the vessels involved or provide details of when or where the collision occurred.
India has also instructed its Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad to lodge a “similar protest” with Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The 1991 agreement has previously been invoked by India about an incident involving Indian and Pakistani naval vessels, over 15 years ago.
In June 2o11, India summoned Pakistan’s Naval Adviser to the Ministry of Defence and conveyed its “serious concern” over what it described as risky manoeuvres by PNS Babur that had “jeopardised the safety of INS Godavari and its crew”.
After the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, India declared the Defence, Naval and Air Advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi persona non grata and said the posts were “deemed annulled”. India also withdrew its Defence, Navy and Air Advisers from its mission in Islamabad. Since then, both embassies have had no military advisers.
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