NEW DELHI: India on Friday rejected Pakistan’s allegations over the collision between Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata and Pakistan Navy vessel PNS Hunain in the Arabian Sea, accusing Islamabad of trying to “hide the truth” and saying the Pakistani vessel violated a 1991 bilateral agreement and international maritime regulations.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan’s response to India’s diplomatic protest was expected and rejected the allegations against India.“Recent events involving Pakistan and India have taken place. I would like to clarify a few things before you. We have seen Pakistan’s response to the protest lodged by us. As always, it is an evasive reply or an attempt to hide the truth, which was expected from them. We completely reject the allegations made against us. I would like to place some facts before you and reiterate them. INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment in the Western Arabian Sea when a Pakistani naval ship, PNS Hunain, behaved in an unacceptable and unprofessional manner at sea, resulting in a collision. The dangerous overtaking maneuver by PNS Hunain was a grave violation of Article 10 of the Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Maneuvers, and Troop Movements between India and Pakistan of April 1991. This article explicitly states that naval units in the sea should not come within three nautical miles of each other…”Jaiswal said the Pakistani vessel’s manoeuvre also violated international maritime rules governing the prevention of collisions at sea.“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. Let me reiterate the facts of the matter for you. 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 that resulted in a collision. The dangerous overtaking maneuver by PNS Hunain was in gross violation of Article 10 of the Agreement Between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Maneuvers and Troop Movements of 1991, which clearly 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. The Pakistani side has once again been advised about 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 incident did not cause any major damage to INS Kolkata, and she remains at sea…”
What happened in the Arabian Sea
The collision took place on September 15 in the North Arabian Sea. India has said INS Kolkata was on routine deployment in international waters when PNS Hunain carried out a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre that resulted in the collision.Pakistan, however, has disputed India’s account and accused the Indian warship of carrying out aggressive manoeuvres near its naval vessel. Islamabad has also claimed that the incident occurred within Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone during its SEASPARK-26 naval exercise.
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Both countries have lodged diplomatic protests following the incident.Under Article 10 of the 1991 agreement between India and Pakistan, naval units at sea are required to maintain a separation of at least three nautical miles.India has maintained that PNS Hunain came close to INS Kolkata at high speed before the collision, describing the manoeuvre as a violation of the bilateral agreement as well as the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.India also said the incident did not cause major damage to INS Kolkata and that the warship remains at sea. Reports said PNS Hunain suffered damage and subsequently returned to port.