India, Pakistan Dispute Naval Collision in Arabian Sea

India and Pakistan have maintained a set of bilateral confidence-building measures (CBMs) since the early 1990s to stop an accidental military encounter from escalating into a larger crisis. The most significant of these is the 1991 Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements, signed on 6 April 1991. It was a direct response to Operation Brass Tacks, a massive Indian military exercise near the Pakistan border in 1987 involving roughly 150,000 troops, which alarmed Islamabad and nearly triggered a crisis. The agreement built a structured mechanism so troop movements and exercises would not be misread as preparation for war.

The agreement covers land, air, and naval domains. For land forces it requires advance notice ranging from 21 to 90 days, depending on the scale of the exercise. For naval forces, Article 10 requires that warships and submarines of the two countries stay at least three nautical miles (about 5.6 km) apart while operating in international waters. Under Article 253 of the Constitution, Parliament can legislate to give effect to such international treaties without needing the consent of individual states, which is how the Union government implements and enforces this bilateral framework.

India's continuous naval presence in the North Arabian Sea reflects a deeper strategic interest, not just this one encounter. A large share of India's crude oil imports moves through the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, making these sea lanes vital to energy security. The development of Chabahar Port in Iran serves the same logic: it gives India direct maritime access to Afghanistan and Central Asia without relying on Pakistani land routes. Protecting freedom of navigation in this region is therefore a standing security priority, independent of any single incident.