New Delhi, 16 September—In signs of growing tensions with country’s western neighbour, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi to lodge a strong protest over what it termed the “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct” of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with an Indian Navy unit.
The Pakistan Navy ship collided with an Indian Navy warship at sea on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Naval Ship closed in at high speed on an Indian Navy warship that was on a routine surveillance mission in the northern part of the Arabian Sea, sources said.
“The Pakistan Navy Ship was at high speed and was manoeuvring in an unprofessional and unsafe manner. This led to a collision. No damage has been reported,” they said.
The MEA confirmed that it had summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest with him.
The MEA termed the incident as “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 MEA said. However, it said the conduct of the Pakistani naval ship was in direct contravention of Article 10 of the April 1991 Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements.
The MEA said the Pakistani Chargé d’Affaires was advised to convey to the authorities concerned in Pakistan the need for all military units to observe due care and respect the provisions of relevant agreements between the two countries to prevent any recurrence of such incidents.
The Chargé d’Affaires of India in Islamabad has also been instructed to lodge a similar protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, the MEA said.
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