Pakistan naval ship collides with Indian Navy vessel
What's the story
A Pakistani naval ship collided with an Indian Navy vessel in international waters, prompting New Delhi to lodge a strong protest. The Foreign Ministry noted that while the incident did not cause any major damage, its conduct 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.
Report
No damage has been reported
According to ANI sources, the incident occurred on the evening of September 15 when PNS Hunain came close to a frontline Indian Naval warship on a routine surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea at high speed, maneuvering in "an unprofessional and unsafe manner."
This led to a collision.
The vessel was later observed heading toward its harbor after sustaining damage following the collision.
MEA
MEA has summoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires
The MEA has summoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires of the High Commission over the "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct" of Pakistani naval units at sea.
"The Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan 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," it said.
Pakistan
The 1991 provision
Furthermore, the Charge d'Affaires of India in Islamabad has been instructed to lodge a similar protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.
The 1991 provision requires naval ships and submarines of both countries to maintain a minimum distance of three nautical miles from each other while operating in international waters to prevent accidents.
Incidents
Past incident
This is not an isolated case, as there have been past instances where Indian and Pakistani ships have come close in the Arabian Sea.
In 2011, a diplomatic row erupted after Pakistani warship PNS Babur came too close to the Indian frigate INS Godavari, damaging one of its helicopter nets.
That time too, India had lodged a formal protest through the Pakistani high commission.