India summoned the charge d'affaires of Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and lodged a strong protest over what it called the unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy.
The incident took place in international waters and did not cause any major damage, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. However, it said the conduct of the Pakistani naval ship 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 Pakistani envoy was asked to convey to the authorities concerned in Islamabad the need for all military units to observe due care and respect the provisions of bilateral agreements between the two countries, in order to prevent any repeat of such incidents, the ministry said.
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India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad has similarly been instructed to lodge a protest with Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the incident, the MEA added.
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Sources told NDTV that the incident occurred on the evening of Sept. 15, when a Pakistani vessel closed in on a frontline Indian naval warship carrying out a routine surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea. The Pakistani vessel approached at high speed and manoeuvred in an unsafe and unprofessional manner, resulting in the collision, they added.
The 1991 agreement invoked by India requires both countries to give each other advance notice of major military exercises and troop movements near the international border and Line of Control, as a confidence-building measure aimed at avoiding misunderstanding or escalation between the two militaries. India's reference to Article 10 suggests New Delhi views the Pakistani naval manoeuvre as a breach of protocol.
The development comes amid a broader backdrop of heightened activity in regional waters, including disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to the US-Israel war against Iran.
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