A collision involving Indian and Pakistani naval vessels in the northern Arabian Sea has triggered a new diplomatic dispute between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, with both governments summoning each other’s diplomats and offering conflicting accounts of the incident.
The collision occurred Tuesday and caused no major damage, according to initial reports. Pakistan said the incident happened within its exclusive economic zone, while India disputed that account and maintained that the vessels were operating in international waters.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its navy was conducting an exercise when the Indian vessel allegedly manoeuvred aggressively and came dangerously close to the Pakistani ship. Islamabad accused India of violating international law as well as a 1991 bilateral agreement concerning advance notification of military exercises.
Pakistan subsequently summoned a senior Indian diplomat and lodged a formal protest, describing the Indian vessel’s actions as “highly provocative and unacceptable.”
India rejected Pakistan’s characterization of the encounter and summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi to register its own protest. India’s Ministry of External Affairs described the incident as “unacceptable and unprofessional” and maintained that it occurred in international waters.
New Delhi also called on Pakistan to ensure its military units exercise greater caution and comply with existing bilateral agreements intended to reduce the risk of potentially dangerous encounters.
Although the collision resulted in no reported major damage, the incident carries added significance because of the historically tense relationship between India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, including two over the disputed Kashmir region.
Relations deteriorated sharply last year following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them Hindu tourists. India blamed Pakistan for the attack, an allegation Islamabad denied.
The incident was followed by retaliatory military strikes between the two countries, raising concerns at the time that the confrontation could escalate into a broader conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.
The latest naval encounter now adds another source of friction between New Delhi and Islamabad. With the two governments disputing both the location of the collision and responsibility for the encounter, their competing accounts underscore the continuing risk of military incidents escalating into wider diplomatic tensions.
