World
India Protests Pakistani Naval Conduct After International Waters Incident
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in New Delhi to lodge a strong protest regarding the "unprofessional" conduct of Pakistani naval units. This protest followed an incident in international waters that involved a close-in maneuver by a Pakistani vessel, which approached an Indian warship at high speed and in an unsafe manner, leading to what the MEA described as a collision.
The MEA stated that the incident, which occurred in international waters, did not result in any major damage. However, it highlighted that the Pakistani naval ship's conduct directly contravened Article 10 of the April 1991 Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements.
Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires was advised to communicate to Pakistani authorities the necessity for all military units to exercise due care and adhere to the provisions of relevant agreements between the two nations to prevent similar incidents. India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad has also been instructed to file a similar protest with Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Such encounters between naval warships are uncommon, especially during routine surveillance missions in international waters. This incident marks the first contact between Indian and Pakistani military assets since Operation Sindoor in May 2025. Operation Sindoor involved Indian military strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May of the previous year, in retaliation for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack. In that attack, terrorists with alleged links to Pakistan opened fire at a tourist spot in Baisaran, Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 civilians.