Pakistan protests India after naval collision in Arabian Sea

Pakistan and India have lodged protests against each other after their respective naval vessels collided in the North Arabian Sea.

The incident took place on 15 September during Pakistan Navy’s biennial SEASPARK-26 exercise.

Pakistan says an Indian naval vessel carried out “aggressive manoeuvres in dangerously close proximity” to a Pakistani ship, resulting in contact between the two vessels. India disputes that account, saying a Pakistani naval vessel’s manoeuvring led to the collision.

Pakistan and India exchange protests

On Wednesday, Pakistan summoned the Charge d’Affaires of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and lodged a strong protest.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the incident as a “highly provocative and unacceptable” action by an Indian Navy vessel in Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ.

“The incident constituted a serious violation of international law and the bilateral agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements, 1991,” the Foreign Ministry said.

India summoned Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi and lodged its own protest.

New Delhi described the conduct of the Pakistani naval unit as “unacceptable and unprofessional.”

India said the incident occurred in international waters, caused no major damage and involved a Pakistani naval ship approaching an Indian warship conducting a routine surveillance mission.

The 1991 India-Pakistan Agreement

In April 1991, both sides signed the Agreement on Advance Notice of Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements as a confidence-building measure between the two countries. It was intended to reduce the risk of military activities being misinterpreted and escalating into confrontation.

Article 10 of the agreement deals specifically with naval ships and submarines operating in international waters. It requires vessels from the two countries to remain at least three nautical miles apart to avoid accidents.

Both governments are now invoking that provision.

Pakistan says the Indian vessel violated the agreement through its manoeuvres near the Pakistani ship. India says the Pakistani vessel’s conduct was in direct contravention of Article 10.

The disagreement also involves the location of the incident. Pakistan describes it as occurring within its EEZ, while India says it occurred in international waters. An EEZ gives a coastal state specific rights over resources and certain jurisdiction, but it is distinct from territorial waters.

First overt military tension since May 2025

The incident is the first overt military tension seen between the nuclear-armed neighbours since their four-day military conflict in May 2025, which ended with a ceasefire.

India and Pakistan have also kept diplomatic relations at a reduced level since 2019, when both downgraded ties following India’s decision to revoke the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. Their missions in each other’s capitals have since been headed by Chargés d’Affaires rather than ambassadors.

For now, the response has remained diplomatic, with both sides summoning each other’s representatives and issuing competing accounts of the collision.

The incident comes in a region where the Arabian Sea connects the Gulf, South Asia and major international maritime routes, making the management of military encounters between the two nuclear armed neighbours an important part of the wider security environment.

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Tags

North Arabian Sea Pakistan India Naval activity