A Pakistan Navy warship crossed the maritime boundary line off the coast of Gujarat and entered Indian waters in early July, but was detected. An Indian Coast Guard Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft forced it to flee.
According to government sources, this occurred on the high seas during the Monsoon season’s peak in the first half of July. The Pakistan Navy Ship Alamgir had moved from its side to Indian waters, crossing the two countries’ maritime boundary line.
It was first detected by an Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft shortly after entering Indian waters. The aircraft was in the air after taking off from a nearby air base for maritime surveillance.
Indian agencies are very strict about maritime boundary laws, and they don’t even allow their own fishermen to go fishing within five nautical miles of their own side’s boundary.
The Dornier had informed its command centre of the presence of Pakistani warships in Indian waters and had continued to monitor them. According to sources, the Dornier issued warnings to the Pakistani warship about its location and was asked to return to its area, but it did not respond.
The Dornier was also said to be hovering over the PNS Alamgir. It had even attempted to communicate with it via radio in order to learn its intentions, but the ship’s captain chose to remain silent and did not respond.
The Dornier flew directly in front of the Pakistani warship multiple times, prompting it to retreat to its own side after its presence was detected. According to sources, the purpose of the Pakistani warship was to see how far they could get inside Indian waters before being detected, but it appears they did not get very far because they were detected soon after they arrived. The warship also retreated, fully aware that more assets would be dispatched to deal with it.
When asked about the incident, Indian Coast Guard officials refused to comment. In addition, the Indian Coast Guard recently conducted Operation Island Watch to clear all uninhabited islands near Dwarka and other coastal locations of any potential anti-national elements.
The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Air Force have been monitoring the Gujarat coast for any mishaps. Pakistani activity, particularly narco-terrorism, has increased in recent years.
The Indian Coast Guard Director General, VS Pathania, recently visited the Porbandar area to assess the fleet’s readiness. He also welcomed the new ALH Dhruv coastal surveillance choppers. The force’s hovercrafts are also deployed in large numbers in the area, where they conduct surveillance in both high seas and shallow waters.
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