India Protests Arabian Sea Collision to Pakistan's Top Diplomat

India summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires in New Delhi on September 16, 2026, to protest a collision between the two navies in the Arabian Sea a day earlier. India's Ministry of External Affairs said a Pakistani naval ship collided with an Indian warship in international waters on September 15, according to Al Jazeera. A charge d'affaires leads an embassy when no ambassador is posted, so the summons sent the protest to the highest Pakistani representation available in the capital.

The ministry called Pakistan's navy conduct "unacceptable and unprofessional" and said it caused contact with an Indian Navy unit. India lodged the protest directly with the charge d'affaires of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

New Delhi said the collision violated a 1991 bilateral agreement requiring naval ships and submarines of both sides to keep at least three nautical miles of separation in international waters. Pakistan's diplomat was asked to tell his government that military units must respect bilateral agreements to prevent a repeat.

India also instructed its own charge d'affaires in Islamabad to lodge a similar protest with Pakistan's foreign ministry, creating a record in both capitals. There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's government as of September 16, 2026, according to Al Jazeera.

The exchange is happening without ambassadors. India and Pakistan have not posted ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2019, when they downgraded ties after New Delhi revoked the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir. The two states have fought three major wars since independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

The broader context here is about how the two sides are supposed to manage incidents at sea. Navy-to-navy rules like the 1991 pact turn seamanship into clear standards for distance and communication. Citing the three-mile rule moves the argument from competing claims about intent to a checkable question of compliance.

In my view, the form of India's response points to containment through procedure. A summons is more formal than a press statement, and repeating it in Islamabad ensures the message enters Pakistan's foreign ministry channel. That dual-track warning aims to deter repetition while leaving room for Islamabad's account.