India rejects Pakistan’s allegations over INS Kolkata collision

India on Friday rejected Pakistan's allegations over a collision between PNS Hunain and INS Kolkata in the Arabian Sea. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Pakistani vessel's dangerous overtaking manoeuvre violated a 1991 India-Pakistan agreement and international maritime regulations

New Delhi: India on Friday strongly rejected Pakistan’s allegations over a collision between a Pakistani vessel and an Indian Navy warship in the Arabian Sea.

New Delhi had on Wednesday summoned the Pakistani Charge d’Affaires (CDA) and lodged a strong protest over the “unacceptable conduct” of the Pakistan Navy vessel that led to the collision.

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The incident took place on Tuesday night after the Pakistani vessel closed in on the frontline Indian Navy warship, which was on a routine surveillance mission in the north Arabian Sea, according to the Indian side.

The Pakistani foreign ministry had alleged that the incident occurred following a “highly provocative and unacceptable action” by the Indian vessel in Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“We have seen Pakistan’s response to the protest we had lodged. It is the usual prevarication that we expected. We reject the allegations and insinuations contained therein,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his regular media briefing.

The Indian ship INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment in the western Arabian Sea when Pakistani naval ship Hunain conducted itself in an “unacceptable and unprofessional manner” at sea, resulting in the collision, he said.

“The dangerous overtaking manoeuvre by PNS Hunain was in gross violation of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991, which specifies that naval units at sea are not to be within three nautical miles of each other. In addition, the Pakistani ship also infringed the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,” Jaiswal said.

The Pakistan side has once again been “advised” about the need for all military units to exercise due care and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two sides to prevent any repeat of such incidents, he said.

Jaiswal said the incident did not cause any major damage to INS Kolkata and that the warship remains at sea.