India Summons Pakistani Diplomat Following Naval Collision in the Arabian Sea

India has officially summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi to lodge a strong protest regarding a recent collision between the two nations' navies in the Arabian Sea.

According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the incident occurred on Tuesday in international waters when a Pakistani naval ship collided with an Indian warship. New Delhi expressed deep concern, accusing the Pakistan navy of demonstrating "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct" that directly caused the collision with an Indian Navy unit.

The ministry highlighted that the event constitutes a violation of a 1991 bilateral agreement, which mandates that naval ships and submarines from both countries maintain a minimum distance of three nautical miles from each other in international waters. Consequently, the charge d’affaires of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was instructed to convey to Islamabad the critical necessity for military units to strictly adhere to existing bilateral agreements to prevent future occurrences.

Simultaneously, India’s charge d’affaires stationed in Islamabad was directed to file a formal protest with the foreign ministry of Pakistan. As of yet, the government of Pakistan has not issued an immediate response regarding the incident.

This maritime confrontation marks the first instance of direct military friction between the nuclear-armed neighbours since their four-day direct conflict last year. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have remained strained, lacking ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2019 following New Delhi's decision to revoke the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir. Since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, India and Pakistan have engaged in three major wars, two of which centered on the disputed status of Kashmir.