India, Pak warship collision spotlights naval imbalance hiding in plain sight

At sea, India and Pakistan have crossed swords on several occasions since 1947. Some have been during wars, while a few encounters have been due to Pakistani mischief. With the recent encounter between INS Kolkata and PNS Hunain in the spotlight, the timing is ripe to remind Pakistan why history favours India when it comes to naval clashes.The Arabian Sea is not alien to India-Pakistan naval confrontations. In the 1971 war, the Indian Navy set Pakistan's Karachi port ablaze in a single night. Fifty-five years later, Pakistan again got a taste of India's naval might when its vessel suffered a major dent as it collided with a Kolkata-class destroyer earlier this week. It has again brought into focus the lopsided India-Pakistan naval balance.That edge in naval power was perhaps one of the reasons India did not deploy the Navy during Operation Sindoor. The Navy was kept higher up the escalation ladder, as deploying it would have immediately broadened the conflict and posed a far more serious threat to Pakistan.India-Pakistan ties have always been a tinderbox, and we all know it does not take much to turn a minor skirmish into a major crisis. September 15 again showed why the Indian Navy held the upper hand.PAKISTANI VESSEL COLLIDES WITH INS KOLKATAAn Indian warship, the INS Kolkata, was on a routine surveillance in international waters when a Pakistani offshore patrol vessel, PNS Hunain, approached it at high speed and manoeuvred unsafely. It reminds me of a classic proverb: fools rush in where angels fear to tread. INS Kolkata is not only one of the Indian Navy's most powerful and advanced warships, but it is also nearly three times the weight of the PNS Hunain. The outcome was there for all to see. While the Pakistani vessel suffered a massive dent on its front arch and had to return to the harbour for repairs, the Indian destroyer continued with its operational deployment and did not suffer any damage."You run from a destroyer, you don't run into it!" one defence expert tweeted. But the captain of the PNS Hunain seems to have left his wits at the dock. This is, however, not the first time that a Pakistani naval vessel has attempted misadventures with an Indian warship in international waters.In 2011, an Egyptian merchant vessel, MV Suez, was captured by Somali pirates. After holding the crew hostage for several months, the vessel was freed. Among the 22 crew members, there were six Indians and four Pakistanis. Pakistan sent PNS Babur to escort the merchant vessel. India sent a frigate, INS Godavari, to reassure the Indian sailors aboard MV Suez.However, on June 16, in an act of belligerence, PNS Babur closed in on INS Godavari and brushed past it at high speed, triggering a diplomatic row. The dangerous manoeuvre "damaged the extended safety net on the helicopter deck", the then Defence Minister, AK Antony, told Parliament.In fact, sources told India Today that Pakistan navy vessels have attempted such dangerous close manoeuvres near Indian Navy assets deployed for anti-piracy and surveillance missions near the Gulf of Aden a couple of times this year.PAKISTAN LEARNING CHINESE RAMMING TACTICS?Experts have called such tactics grey-zone warfare. It essentially entails coercive actions while staying below the threshold that might trigger a conventional military response.In the sea, such moves are known as naval ramming. The tactic has ancient roots, with the Romans and Greeks both relying on it as a core weapon. The tactic was used to great effect during the two World Wars.Of late, China has been using such intimidating tactics in the South China Sea, where it has been involved in confrontations with the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. Pakistan, China's all-weather friend, may have picked a leaf from China's playbook."Over the years, Pakistan has increasingly acquired Chinese warships and submarines. They seem to have imported some of Beijing's belligerence as well. Now, they appear keen to bring that aggression to the Arabian Sea as well," defence analyst Sandeep Unnithan told IndiaToday.in. INS Khanjar, right and INS Kora - the guided missile corvettes of the Indian Navy (AP) THE OP SINDOOR ATTACK THAT NEVER HAPPENEDFor the Pakistani navy, its biggest weakness is geography. Its major ports (Karachi, Gwadar, Port Qasim) lie on a relatively short coastline facing the Arabian Sea. This does not give Pakistan much space to manoeuvre or hide from enemy warships.This vulnerability was exposed several times, including during Operation Sindoor and the 1971 war.As India bombed terror camps deep inside Pakistan on the intervening night of May 6-7, satellite images captured the fear in Islamabad. It showed Pakistani warships being silently moved from Karachi to commercial terminals, with some being sheltered at the Gwadar Port near Iran.In fact, days after the hostilities ended, the Indian Navy revealed that Karachi and other key Pakistani military assets were in the line of fire. However, it would have escalated the conflict.It does not mean that the Indian Navy did not play any role. The naval forces maintained sustained pressure on Pakistan, forcing its navy to remain confined to its ports as the IAF pummelled air bases across the border.THE FIRST ENCOUNTER - 1965 WARThe two navies, however, have a long and sometimes violent history at sea. It started with the 1965 war, when the Pakistani army launched 'Operation Grand Slam'. Its navy also decided to get into the act.Shortly after midnight on September 7, 1965, five Pakistani destroyers sailed towards the shores of the temple town of Dwarka, Gujarat, and fired 50 shells. It aimed to destroy a radar station that helped India monitor naval activity in the Arabian Sea. The bombardment lasted just four minutes before the Pakistani warships turned back towards Karachi. It feared an aerial retaliation, with the IAF base at Jamnagar just two hours away.Pakistan boasts to this day that its Operation Dwarka was a huge success. So much so that it celebrates September 8 as Navy Day.However, the reality is quite different. An Indian Navy team visited the site the next morning. It found that 40 of the 50 shells that were fired failed to explode. The rest fell on soft soil between the Dwarka temple and the railway station. Only a building and a steam engine were partially damaged. The only casualty of the attack was a cow.WHEN INDIAN NAVY SET KARACHI ABLAZEHowever, undoubtedly, the most important chapter of history came during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.Karachi was Pakistan's naval lifeline. It not only served as Pakistan's principal naval headquarters, but also housed its key fuel storage centre and logistical hubs. The Indian Navy knew it very well. Thus, in the opening days of the war in December 1971, India launched Operation Trident to attack Karachi.Speed and surprise were key to the mission. Thus, India did not deploy its battleships or aircraft carriers. Instead, it used its newly acquired Soviet-made missile boats equipped with Styx anti-ship missiles.However, there was a major problem. The missile boats - INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer - were compact and possessed enormous striking power, but their operational range was limited.To solve this, the Navy deployed larger warships to escort and support the missile boats. As they reached near Karachi under cover of darkness, the missile boats made a rapid dash and wreaked carnage at the harbour.Several Pakistani warships, destroyers and vessels were sunk. Oil storage installations and fuel tanks were set ablaze. Such was the intensity of the attack that explosions lit up the night sky and were visible several miles away.By the time the Pakistani navy was able to grasp what struck them, the Indian boats had already returned safely. However, the Indian Navy was not done yet.Around four days later, on the intervening night of December 8-9, India launched Operation Python, targeting Karachi once again. This time, fuel reserves and additional shipping infrastructure were snuffed out. INS Vikrant in action during the 1971 war THE NAVAL BLOCKADE THAT WON THE WARThe eastern theatre remained equally active. Pakistan's eyes were on India's first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. It deployed PNS Ghazi. However, India hoodwinked PNS Ghazi by deploying the ageing destroyer INS Rajput as a decoy.Heavy wireless signals were sent out to make Pakistan believe that INS Vikrant was in the vicinity. The carrier had already been moved secretly to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.On the night of December 3, suspicious underwater movement was detected near the Vizag coast. The INS Rajput released an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon in the area. Soon, a huge blast was heard. The next morning, debris believed to be from the PNS Ghazi was found floating near the harbour.With PNS Ghazi eliminated, INS Vikrant and its carrier group moved towards East Pakistan and enforced a blockade. It meant Pakistani forces in East Pakistan had no escape route via the sea. Reinforcements also could not arrive.It proved to be decisive, helping the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini advance rapidly towards Dhaka. The writing was already on the wall. Within days, Pakistani forces were surrounded on land and cut off at sea. On December 16, 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered. To date, it remains one of the largest military surrenders since World War II.Significantly, the war reshaped India's naval identity. INS Vikrant and its carrier group moved towards East Pakistan and enforced a blockade THE 1991 AGREEMENT THAT PAKISTAN VIOLATEDTensions remained high between India and Pakistan throughout the decade. However, the 1980s saw some confidence-building measures.It culminated in India and Pakistan signing an agreement in 1991 on Advance Notice of military exercises, manoeuvres and troop movements. The broader objective, however, was to reduce the possibility of military exercises being mistaken for preparations for an attack.Essentially, the agreement required the two countries to provide advance information about military drills and movements.It is this treaty that India said Pakistan violated in the September 15 incident when the PNS Hunain collided with the INS Kolkata.Article 10 of the 1991 agreement requires Indian and Pakistani naval ships operating in international waters to maintain a distance of at least three nautical miles (around 5.6 km) from each other.WHY PAKISTAN NAVY IS NO MATCH FOR INDIAThe September 15 clash, where the Pakistani warship suffered a massive dent, is emblematic of the striking mismatch in naval powers of the countries. It is a lopsided contest.As per International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) data, India operates two aircraft carriers, 16 submarines, 11 destroyers and 16 frigates.In comparison, Pakistan does not operate or have ever owned any aircraft carriers. Also, Pakistan presently does not have any destroyers, having retired the British-acquired Tariq-class fleet in 2021. What is left is eight submarines, 10 frigates and seven Babur-class combat corvettes.Pakistan's response to this imbalance is to lean heavily on China. Islamabad is already modernising its submarine arm with China's Hangor-class program. It commissioned the first Chinese-built Hangor-class submarine in April this year. Seven more are on the way.India also has a substantially larger naval personnel strength of around 75,500. Pakistan has less than half, around 30,000, as per IISS data.Over the years, the India-Pakistan naval episodes tell a consistent story. In 1965, Pakistan's attempt to attack Dwarka came a cropper. Six years later, India's Navy dealt a decisive blow to Pakistan in the 1971 war. Decades later, another Pakistani misadventure in the Arabian Sea resulted in its vessel suffering massive damage and having to be sent back for repairs.It shows that while time has changed, the imbalance at sea still haunts Pakistan.- EndsPublished By: Abhishek DePublished On: Sep 19, 2026 14:19 IST