India, Pakistan Warships Collide in Arabian Sea — SkimNews
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- PNS Hunain collided with INS Kolkata in the north Arabian Sea, 220 kilometers east of Oman, on September 15 — the first open military tension between the two nations since their four-day clashes last May.
- India's Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan's Chargé d'Affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich, calling the Pakistani navy's conduct "unacceptable and unprofessional" and citing a violation of Article 10 of the 1991 Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises.
- Article 10 of the 1991 Agreement bars Indian and Pakistani naval ships and submarines from coming within three nautical miles of each other in international waters — a confidence-building measure signed after India's massive Brass Tacks exercise in Punjab and Rajasthan in January 1987.
- Pakistan's Foreign Office blamed India, claiming INS Kolkata carried out "aggressive maneuvers" dangerously close to PNS Hunain during Pakistan's biennial SEASPARK-26 exercise.
- Citing unnamed officials, Hindustan Times, First Post, and The Hindu reported that the Pakistani vessel shadowed the Indian ship, ignored multiple warnings, and crossed at high speed directly in front of the bow.
- The Pakistani vessel sustained damage and returned to harbor, while the Indian warship suffered minor damage and continued its mission — echoing a 2011 collision when Pakistan's PNS Babur brushed past INS Godavari in the Gulf of Aden.
- Both countries also instructed their own charge d'affaires in the other country to lodge complaints, with India advising Pakistan to "prevent any repeat of such incidents."
Why it matters: This is the first open military friction between India and Pakistan since their four-day clashes last May, with both sides filing formal diplomatic protests. The collision violated a 1991 naval separation rule, and the two nations' sharply conflicting accounts — each blaming the other — leave the factual record disputed.
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