India and Pakistan have summoned each other's top diplomats following a collision between an Indian Navy warship and the Pakistani corvette PNS Hunain in the Arabian Sea on September 15, 2026. India accused the Pakistani vessel of unsafe, high-speed maneuvers in international waters, violating a 1991 bilateral agreement. Pakistan rejected the claim, asserting that the Indian vessel carried out aggressive maneuvers in its Exclusive Economic Zone during Pakistan's SEASPARK-26 naval exercise. The incident marks the first overt military tension between the nuclear-armed rivals since their brief conflict in May 2025.
Arabian Sea naval collision
- ▪Indian official sources stated that the Indian Navy warship involved in the September 15, 2026 collision in the Arabian Sea did not suffer major damage and continued its mission, while the Pakistani vessel PNS Hunain sustained heavy damage
- ▪The Pakistan Navy vessel involved in the September 15, 2026 collision between an Indian Navy warship and a Pakistani naval vessel in the Arabian Sea was identified as the PNS Hunain, a 2,600-tonne corvette or offshore patrol vessel commissioned in July 2024
- ▪An Indian Navy warship and a Pakistan Navy vessel collided in the north Arabian Sea on the evening of September 15, 2026
Diplomatic envoy summons
- ▪Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Indian Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad, Satyanjal Pandey, on September 16, 2026, to protest what it called a highly provocative action by an Indian Navy vessel in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone on September 15, 2026
- ▪India's Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Pakistani Charge d'Affaires in New Delhi, Saad Warraich, on September 16, 2026, to lodge a strong protest over the September 15, 2026 collision between an Indian Navy warship and the Pakistani corvette PNS Hunain in the Arabian Sea
1991 bilateral agreement violation
- ▪Article 10 of the 1991 bilateral agreement mandates that naval ships and submarines of India and Pakistan must maintain a distance of at least three nautical miles from each other in international waters
- ▪Pakistan claimed the September 15, 2026 collision between an Indian Navy vessel and the Pakistani vessel PNS Hunain in the Arabian Sea violated international law and the 1991 bilateral agreement, alleging the Indian vessel carried out aggressive maneuvers in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone
- ▪India stated that the Pakistani naval vessel PNS Hunain's conduct violated Article 10 of the April 1991 Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements
Regional military tensions
- ▪Following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, India withdrew its military attaches from Islamabad, declared Pakistani attaches in New Delhi persona non grata, and both nations reduced embassy staff from 55 to 20
- ▪The September 15, 2026 collision between an Indian Navy warship and the Pakistani corvette PNS Hunain in the Arabian Sea represents the first overt military tension between India and Pakistan since a four-day military conflict in May 2025, which was triggered by the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack
- ▪India and Pakistan have not stationed ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2019, when diplomatic ties were downgraded following India's revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir
Unprofessional naval maneuvers
- ▪Indian officials stated that the Pakistani corvette PNS Hunain closed in at high speed and maneuvered in an unprofessional and unsafe manner while an Indian Navy warship was on a routine surveillance mission in the north Arabian Sea on September 15, 2026
- ▪Pakistan's foreign ministry claimed that its navy was conducting its biennial SEASPARK-26 exercise when an Indian Navy vessel in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone on September 15, 2026 executed aggressive maneuvers in dangerously close proximity
Debatable claims
- ▪India has the right to conduct military surveillance in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone
- ▪India and Pakistan should reinstate ambassadors to prevent military escalation
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