India Dismisses Pakistan’s Claim Over Arabian Sea Naval Collision, Calls It ‘Usual Prevarication’

India on Friday rejected Pakistan’s allegations over the collision between Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata and Pakistan Navy vessel PNS Hunain in the Arabian Sea, calling Islamabad’s response “usual prevarication.”

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi stood by its account of the incident and rejected the allegations made by Pakistan. The collision took place earlier this week, after which both countries summoned each other’s diplomats.

“We have seen Pakistan’s response to the protest we had lodged. It is the usual prevarication that we expected. We reject the allegations and insinuations contained therein,” Jaiswal said during the MEA briefing.

India Blames Dangerous Manoeuvre

According to India’s account, INS Kolkata was carrying out a routine deployment in the western Arabian Sea when PNS Hunain approached and conducted what Jaiswal described as an “unacceptable and unprofessional” manoeuvre that resulted in the collision.

Jaiswal specifically accused the Pakistani vessel of carrying out a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre. India said the action violated Article 10 of the April 1991 Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements.

The provision, according to the Indian side, requires naval units at sea to maintain a distance of at least three nautical miles from one another. Jaiswal also said PNS Hunain breached the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

INS Kolkata Remains at Sea

Jaiswal said the collision did not cause any major damage to INS Kolkata and that the Indian warship remained deployed at sea.

He added that Pakistan had again been advised to ensure that its military units exercised due care and complied with relevant bilateral agreements and international maritime regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Pakistan has presented a different account of the incident, accusing the Indian warship of carrying out a provocative manoeuvre during its naval exercise. India has rejected those allegations.

Diplomatic Tensions Continue

The collision has added another point of friction to already strained India-Pakistan relations. Following the incident, New Delhi summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires and lodged a strong protest over what it described as the “unacceptable and unprofessional” conduct of the Pakistani naval vessel.

The latest exchange comes amid continuing tensions between the two countries following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent military confrontation between India and Pakistan.

India had responded to the attack with Operation Sindoor, along with a series of diplomatic and other measures against Pakistan.

For now, both sides have issued sharply different accounts of the naval incident, while India has maintained that INS Kolkata suffered no major damage and continues to operate at sea.