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India on Wednesday summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest over what it called the “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct” of Pakistani naval units involved in a collision with an Indian Navy vessel in international waters.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the incident caused no major damage but alleged that the conduct of the Pakistani naval vessel was in direct contravention of Article 10 of the 1991 Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements.
The ministry said Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires was asked to convey to the relevant authorities that all military units must exercise due care and comply with bilateral agreements to prevent similar incidents in the future.
India’s Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad was also instructed to lodge a similar protest with Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the MEA said.
The 1991 agreement sets out rules for advance notification of major military exercises, manoeuvres and troop movements by the armed forces of the two countries. It also requires the forces to avoid major exercises close to each other.
For naval forces, the agreement covers exercises involving six or more destroyer- or frigate-sized vessels crossing into the other country’s exclusive economic zone.
The latest incident is not the first time Indian and Pakistani naval vessels have come into close contact in the Arabian Sea.
In 2011, a diplomatic row erupted over the MV Suez incident, when then Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said the Pakistani warship PNS Babur had come “much closer” than was prudent and damaged a helicopter net on the Indian Navy vessel INS Godavari.
Verma had said at the time that the Indian crew acted professionally and stressed that there were clear rules governing navigation at sea.
