Pakistan protests Indian naval vessel's violation of EEZ

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Wednesday, the Pakistan Navy has been conducting Sea Spark 26 exercises in Pakistan’s EEZ since September 1. The Foreign Office said an Indian naval vessel and a helicopter deployed on it had made multiple attempts since September 7 to enter the exercise area.

The statement said the Indian vessel adopted what Pakistan described as a dangerous and provocative posture near Pakistan Navy ships and continued its activities despite several warnings.

Pakistan rejected India’s characterisation of the activity as a routine deployment, saying the actions constituted a violation of the 1991 bilateral agreement between the two countries., the situation escalated on Tuesday when INS Kolkata made a dangerous manoeuvre that resulted in contact with Pakistan Navy vessel PNS Hunain.

Pakistan said PNS Hunain attempted to avoid a collision, while the Indian vessel subsequently increased speed and left the area. The Foreign Office described the incident as highly provocative and warned that such actions could have triggered a serious crisis between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan said the professional and responsible conduct of its naval personnel helped prevent the situation from escalating further. The Foreign Office said Pakistan viewed the reported violations by the Indian Navy with serious concern and urged New Delhi to comply with bilateral agreements and observe responsible conduct at sea.

Islamabad also called on Indian authorities to take immediate steps to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Pakistan further maintained that India was distorting facts and attempting to escalate the matter diplomatically.

The Foreign Office said India had lodged a diplomatic protest against Pakistan and summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires over the incident.’s account, India has attributed responsibility for the incident to a Pakistani naval unit, leaving the two countries with conflicting official versions of what happened.