‘Can lead to very dangerous situation’: Ex-Navy captain's warning on Pakistan vessel collision with Indian warship

Day after a Pakistani warship collided with an Indian frontline warship in the Arabian Sea, former Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma said the incident was “unacceptable” and could lead to a “very dangerous situation”.

Sharma said “some ships came and manoeuvred very dangerously” around the Indian ship, while stating that there were “rules, regulations, and distances to be kept and maintained” between two ships at sea, news agency ANI reported.

India had earlier on Wednesday summoned the most senior Pakistani diplomat to lodge a strong protest over the collision.

The charge d'affaires of the Pakistan high commission, Saad Warraich, was summoned to the external affairs ministry, and a strong protest was lodged with him over the “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy”, the MEA said in a statement.

What did the ex-Navy Captain say?

Sharma said the incident was “unacceptable” and displayed “unprofessional conduct by the ships.”

“For that, the Chargé d'Affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi was summoned by the MEA, and a protest has been lodged. Last evening, some of their ships came and manoeuvred very dangerously around an Indian naval ship, which is not acceptable to anyone who operates at sea,” Sharma told ANI. “There are rules, regulations, and distances to be kept and maintained between two ships at sea, be it warships or merchant vessels,” he added.

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The former Navy Captain said such incidents could “lead to a very, very dangerous situation where things can snowball within no time.” Sharma said that this had been “made very clear” to the Pakistani envoy. “…We are exercising restraint, and only this time have they been called; a protest has been lodged, and a warning has been given that this will not be accepted by the Indian Navy at all under any condition…,” Sharma said.

What led to the collision?

An Indian Navy warship was on a routine surveillance mission in the north Arabian Sea on September 15 when a Pakistan Navy vessel closed in on the ship at high speed.

The Pakistani vessel manoeuvred in an unprofessional and unsafe manner and this led to a collision, officials said. Such encounters involving naval warships are rare, particularly when vessels are operating on routine surveillance missions in international waters.

How did India respond?

The ministry of external affairs said the incident, which took place in international waters, did not cause any major damage.

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However, the conduct of the Pakistani naval ship was in direct contravention of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991, the MEA said.

The agreement signed by India and Pakistan in 1991 says that each country must give the other prior notice of major military exercises and troop movements near the border, and each must also ensure such exercises are neither directed at nor built up against the other side, to avoid misunderstandings that could spark a crisis.

“The Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan was advised to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities, the need for all military units to observe due care and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two sides in order to prevent any repeat of such incidents,” the MEA said in a press release after the incident.