New Delhi: India summoned Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires on Wednesday and lodged a strong protest after a Pakistan Navy vessel collided with an Indian Navy warship in the North Arabian Sea on Tuesday evening. The Ministry of External Affairs described the Pakistani unit’s conduct as “unacceptable and unprofessional.”
Government sources said the Indian warship was on a routine surveillance mission in international waters when the Pakistani ship closed in at high speed and executed an unsafe manoeuvre, resulting in the collision. Officials said the Indian vessel suffered no damage, and the ministry stated that the incident did not cause any major damage.
Diplomatic protest in New Delhi and Islamabad
The Charge d’Affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs. India conveyed that the Pakistani ship’s actions were in direct contravention of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements, signed in April 1991.
That provision requires naval ships and submarines of the two countries to maintain a minimum distance of three nautical miles from each other while operating in international waters, in order to prevent accidents.
The ministry said the Pakistani diplomat was advised to inform the concerned authorities in Islamabad of the need for all military units to observe due care and to respect the relevant bilateral agreements, so that such incidents are not repeated. India’s Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad was instructed to lodge a similar protest with Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Neither government has publicly identified the ships involved.
What Indian officials say happened
According to government sources cited across multiple Indian reports:
- The encounter took place on the evening of 15 September 2026 in the North Arabian Sea.
- The Indian Navy unit was conducting routine surveillance in international waters.
- The Pakistan Navy vessel approached at high speed and manoeuvred in what New Delhi termed an “unprofessional and unsafe manner.”
- Contact followed.
- No major damage was reported to the Indian warship.
Reuters independently reported that India’s foreign ministry had summoned the top Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi over the same episode.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there was no official public statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office or Inter-Services Public Relations specifically addressing this collision.
The 1991 agreement and the maritime context
The 1991 agreement is one of the principal confidence-building measures governing military activity between the two countries. Article 10 is intended to reduce the risk of accidental contact at sea by requiring a minimum stand-off distance between naval platforms in international waters.
The incident occurs against a backdrop of persistently strained India–Pakistan relations following last year’s military exchanges, commonly referred to in Indian official and media accounts as Operation Sindoor. Reports of close approaches between the two navies in the Arabian Sea have circulated in recent weeks, though earlier claims of radio warnings to Pakistani aircraft have not been independently confirmed.
India has framed the latest episode as a breach of agreed safety rules rather than as an armed confrontation. The official message delivered to the Pakistani diplomat was that military units must respect existing agreements in order to prevent a recurrence.
Neither the Indian Navy nor the Ministry of Defence had issued a separate detailed operational account by early Wednesday afternoon. Further particulars, including the identities of the vessels and any Pakistani account of the encounter, had not been released at the time of writing.
