An Indian Navy warship and a Pakistan Navy vessel collided in the North Arabian Sea on the evening of September 16, 2026, in an incident that has added fresh strain to relations between the two neighbours, officials said Wednesday.
What Happened
According to Indian defence sources, the collision took place in international waters while an Indian warship was engaged in a routine surveillance mission. The sources alleged that the Pakistani vessel “closed in at high speed, manoeuvring in an unprofessional and unsafe manner” before the two ships made contact. No major damage or injuries have been reported by either side so far, and neither government has publicly named the specific vessels involved.
India’s Response
India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the incident occurred in international waters and said New Delhi had summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires to lodge a formal protest over what it called unsafe conduct at sea. Officials pointed to Article 10 of the 1991 bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan, which requires advance notice of military exercises and troop movements near the shared maritime boundary, and said Islamabad’s actions were inconsistent with that understanding.
New Delhi has called on Pakistan to exercise “due care” and to strictly observe existing bilateral agreements in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.
A History of Close Encounters
Wednesday’s incident is not the first of its kind. India lodged a comparable protest in 2011 after alleging risky manoeuvres by the Pakistani vessel PNS Babur near the Indian frigate INS Godavari. Naval analysts note that the North Arabian Sea remains a sensitive corridor where the two countries’ fleets frequently operate in close proximity, raising the risk of miscalculation even absent any intent for confrontation.
What Comes Next
Neither side has indicated the incident will escalate into a broader diplomatic rupture, but the protest adds to an already tense backdrop between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Analysts will be watching for Pakistan’s official response, as well as whether both navies agree to any additional confidence-building measures to reduce the risk of further close encounters at sea.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
The International Desk covers world and Asian affairs, diplomacy and conflict, with a focus on what they mean for India. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
