Arabian Sea Warship Collision Between India and Pakistan Stirs Fears of Unintended Escalation

Tensions between South Asia’s nuclear-armed rivals have flared once again after naval vessels from India and Pakistan collided in the Arabian Sea. The incident marks the closest the two countries have come to a direct military standoff since their intense four-day aerial conflict more than 16 months ago.

The maritime encounter immediately triggered a flurry of diplomatic friction. In Islamabad, Pakistan’s government summoned India’s top diplomat on Wednesday evening to lodge a formal protest. That move mirrored actions taken hours earlier by New Delhi, which had summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires to express its own strong objections over the sea encounter.

The high-seas collision represents the first direct military clash between the two neighboring states since May 2025, when a round of cross-border air strikes, missile launches, and drone deployments pushed both countries to the brink of a wider war. Although a full-scale conflict was averted at the time, the latest event has reignited concerns over how quickly unexpected encounters can escalate.

Details surrounding the collision remain heavily contested, as neither New Delhi nor Islamabad has made track data, video evidence, or independent investigation findings publicly available. Instead, both governments have issued official statements squarely laying the blame on the maneuvering of the other’s warship.

According to a statement released by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the Pakistan Navy had been conducting SEASPARK-26, a biennial naval drill, inside its exclusive economic zone since September 1. Islamabad asserted that an Indian warship, reported to be the guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata, had repeatedly attempted to enter the designated exercise area beginning on September 7.

Pakistani officials alleged that the Indian vessel executed a dangerous course change on September 15, resulting in direct physical contact with a Pakistani vessel. Local media reports identified the Pakistani ship involved as the offshore patrol vessel PNS Hunain.

Denouncing the incident, the Pakistani Foreign Office described the maneuver as a belligerent action. Islamabad further contended that the Indian warship’s actions violated a bilateral agreement established in 1991, which mandates that military vessels from both nations maintain a separation distance of at least three nautical miles—equivalent to 5.5 kilometers or 3.4 miles—while operating in international waters.

In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected Pakistan’s characterization of the event. Indian authorities maintained that their warship was conducting routine surveillance operations in international waters when a Pakistani naval vessel approached at high speed and carried out unsafe maneuvers, leading to the collision.

The dispute highlights the complexities of maritime jurisdiction. Under international maritime principles, a nation's territorial waters span 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from its coast, while its exclusive economic zone extends out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers). Although foreign ships retain the right of unhindered passage through the international waters that make up the outer EEZ, they are barred from exploiting the economic resources belonging to the coastal state.

Neither government officially named the participating vessels in their formal, on-record diplomatic statements. Furthermore, the Indian government has neither confirmed nor denied the specific identification of the INS Kolkata in connection with the incident.

Direct collisions between the Indian and Pakistani navies are relatively rare, with the last notable encounter occurring in June 2011. During that incident, the Pakistani frigate PNS Babur brushed against the Indian frigate INS Godavari in the Gulf of Aden while both were escorting a commercial vessel that had been released by Somali pirates. That encounter generated temporary diplomatic friction before quietly subsiding within weeks.

Maritime defense experts warn that the current environment carries significantly greater risk. Retired Vice Admiral Ahmad Saeed of the Pakistan Navy noted that the practice of ships closing distance without deliberate intent to strike resembles the historical "bumping" maneuvers seen between United States and Soviet warships in the Black Sea during the Cold War.

However, Saeed pointed out that South Asia lacks the formal de-escalation infrastructure that helped prevent superpower skirmishes from spiraling out of control. Unlike the bilateral Incidents at Sea agreement signed by Washington and Moscow in 1972, India and Pakistan possess no direct navy-to-navy hotline or specialized maritime protocols.

Saeed observed that while Article 10 of the 1991 confidence-building agreement sets a minimum separation distance of three nautical miles in international waters, it fails to outline specific maneuvering regulations or standard procedures for post-incident inquiries. He warned that this procedural void allows both capitals to trade accusations and creates dangerous room for escalation, including radar lock-ons, aggressive helicopter overflights, or encounters resulting in casualties.

Adding to the regulatory dimension, Lahore-based security and maritime analyst Muhammad Shareh Qazi emphasized that the 1991 accord also mandates a 30-day advance written notice prior to conducting military exercises. Qazi noted that broader international collision regulations under the United Nations maritime convention continue to apply to both nations, underscoring the critical need for adherence to established maritime rules to avert further instability.