India on Friday, 18 September 2026, firmly rejected Pakistan's allegations over the collision between the Indian Navy's INS Kolkata and the Pakistani naval ship PNS Hunain in the western Arabian Sea on 15 September, dismissing the Pakistani response as 'usual prevarication.' The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal declared that it was PNS Hunain's 'unacceptable and unprofessional' conduct at sea that directly caused the collision, and confirmed that INS Kolkata suffered no significant damage and remains operational.

What MEA Said at the Briefing

Addressing reporters at a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Jaiswal stated: 'We have seen Pakistan's response to the protest we have lodged. It is the usual prevarication that we expected. We reject the allegations and insinuations contained therein.'

He elaborated that INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment in the western Arabian Sea when PNS Hunain executed a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre that triggered the incident. 'The dangerous overtaking manoeuvre 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,' Jaiswal said.

The MEA spokesperson also noted that the Pakistani ship infringed the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. He confirmed that the Pakistani side has once again been advised to ensure all military units observe due care and respect the provisions of the relevant bilateral agreements.

Diplomatic Escalation: Pakistan's Envoy Summoned

The incident had already triggered a sharp diplomatic response on Wednesday, when India summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest. Separately, India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad was instructed to file a parallel protest with Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs — a dual-channel démarche signalling the seriousness with which New Delhi views the episode.

The collision occurred in international waters, a detail the MEA has underscored to pre-empt any territorial framing by the Pakistani side.

Pakistan's Counterclaim

Pakistan had previously accused an Indian naval vessel of conducting a 'provocative manoeuvre' that caused the collision, framing its own ship as the aggrieved party. India's point-by-point rebuttal — citing a specific treaty article and international maritime law — represents a deliberate effort to move the dispute onto a legal and procedural footing, rather than allowing it to remain a competing narrative battle.

Context: The 1991 Agreement and Maritime Norms

The 1991 bilateral agreement on advance notice for military exercises and troop movements was designed specifically to reduce the risk of accidental confrontation between the two navies. Article 10's three-nautical-mile separation rule for naval units is one of its core operational safeguards. This is not the first time India has cited treaty violations in maritime incidents involving the two navies, and critics argue that the agreement's enforcement mechanisms remain weak in practice.

Notably, the Arabian Sea has seen heightened naval activity from both sides in recent years, and this incident underscores the fragility of at-sea protocols in a bilateral relationship with limited direct communication channels between military commanders.

What Happens Next

With both sides having lodged formal protests and publicly staked out opposing accounts of the incident, the episode is unlikely to de-escalate quickly. Analysts say the focus will now shift to whether either government seeks a fact-finding exchange or pursues the matter through diplomatic back-channels. INS Kolkata, confirmed to be undamaged, remains on deployment — a signal that India does not intend to alter its operational posture in the region.