India has summoned Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich after a Pakistani Navy vessel collided with an Indian naval ship in international waters. The Ministry of External Affairs lodged a strong protest over what it described as “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct” by Pakistani naval units.

The ministry said the collision occurred in international waters and caused no major damage. It also said the conduct of the Pakistani naval vessel was in direct contravention of Article 10 of the 1991 India-Pakistan agreement on advance notice of military exercises, manoeuvres and troop movements.

“The Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan was advised to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities 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 ministry said.

The Pakistani diplomat was also asked to convey India’s message to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The Charge d'Affaires of India in Islamabad has also been instructed to lodge a similar protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the statement added.

Warraich was summoned to the Foreign Ministry’s Janpath office. He remained there for around 30 minutes. The Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad has also been directed to lodge a similar protest with Pakistan.

According to sources, the incident took place on the evening of September 15. A Pakistani naval vessel approached a frontline Indian warship carrying out a routine surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea. The Pakistani vessel reportedly passed close to the Indian ship around 220 km east of Oman.

Sources said the Pakistani vessel was travelling at high speed and carried out unsafe manoeuvres. The movements resulted in a collision with the Indian warship. “No damage has been reported in the incident,” said sources.

The vessels involved have not been officially identified. Sources, however, said the Pakistani ship was a Hunain-class corvette. It reportedly collided with an Indian frontline naval warship.

Rough seas were reported in the area at the time of the incident. Both vessels later moved away from each other. Sources described the Pakistani Navy’s conduct as “aggressive, intimidatory, and unprofessional, not knowing how to show down in rough seas,” while discussing the incident.

The latest collision is not the first such incident between the two navies. In June 2011, the Pakistani Navy’s Babur and the Indian Navy’s INS Godavari were involved in a similar incident.