1999 Pakistan Breguet 1150 Atlantic shootdown
The Atlantique Incident was a major event in which a Pakistan Navy plane was shot down by the Indian Air Force citing border violation. The episode took place in the Rann of Kutch on August 10, 1999 just a month after the Kargil War, creating a tense atmosphere between the two countries.
The confrontation
The French-built naval plane, Breguet Atlantic used primarily for patrol and reconnaissance (though capable of being fitted with air-to-surface missiles and anti-submarine weapons) left Mehran (Sindh province) Naval Base in Pakistan at 9:15 a.m.(PST). An Indian Air Force ground radar picked up the flight track of the flight named "Altantic-91" approaching the International Border. Two IAF Mig-21 fighter interceptors of No.45 Squadron, from the IAF airbase at Naliya in Kutch, were soon scrambled by the IAF. After a series of manouveres - and a conflicting version of events from both sides - the 2 jets were given permission to shoot down the Pakistani plane. Nearly two hours later (1100 hours PST) it was intercepted and was destroyed by an air-to-air missile fired by Sqn Ldr P.K. Bundela, killing all 16 on board the "Atlantic-91", including five officers of Pakistan Navy.
Claims and counter claims
The event immediately sparked claims and counter claims by both nations. Pakistan claimed that the plane was unarmed and the debris was found on the Pakistan side of the border,[1] and hence there was no violation of Indian airspace. It also claimed that the plane was merely on "a routine training mission",[2] though the Pakistani Information Minister, Mushahid Hussein was initially quoted by the BBC as saying that the aircraft was on a "surveillance" mission.[3]
The Indian Air force, however, claimed that the plane did not respond to international protocol and that the debris of a downed aircraft could fall over a wide radius. India also claimed that the plane violated a bilateral agreement signed between India and Pakistan in 1991. The treaty signed between India and Pakistan states that no military aircraft is supposed to come anywhere near 10 km from the border[4] Indian experts also questioned why a training mission was being done periliously close to interational borders, since all air forces clearly demarcate training areas for flight - which are located well away from international borders. They also stated that the Pakistani claim was untenable since the primary role of the Atlantique is for operations over the seas and that to carry out a straining flight over land deep inside foreign territory was an indication of its use as a surveillance role.[3] For its part India displayed part of the wreckage of the Pakistani naval aircraft at New Delhi airport the next day. Pakistan refutes this, instead claiming that the wreckage was removed from its side of the border by IAF choppers.[1]
While Pakistan said that the plane was unarmed and the debris was within Pakistani territory, the Indians maintained that apt warnings had been given to the Atlantique and that its flight trajectory meant it could have fallen on either side of the border. The Indians also claimed that the debris was found in a radius of 2 Km on either side of the border. Pakistan requested that the matter be taken up in the UN. Indian officials claimed that there had been previous violations in the area and pointed that the previous year, a Pakistani Unmanned surveillance aircraft intruded 150 km inside the Indian border, coming close to the Bhuj air base, before the IAF spotted it and brought it down with several missiles.[5] They also added that Pakistan military aircraft had violated Indian airspace at least 50 times since January of that year, showing videotapes of Pakistani Atlantiques "buzzing", or flying provocatively near Indian Navy's Warships in the Indian Ocean. Some Indian analysts stated that the Atlantique was nearly destroyed in 1983 on a similar encounter and noted other close encounters from Pakistan Naval planes.[6][7] Independent defense experts too concurred stating that the Atlantique was probably conducting a "probe" on India's air defence system, mainly the radar equipment in the border area, however they advised that it wasn't part of any planned aggressive military action by Pakistan.[8]
Rise in tensions
On the following day of the attack, an IAF helicopter carrying journalists to the site of the attack was attacked by Pakistan Army with a surface-to-air missile. Pakistani officials asserted that two Indian jets had intruded in midafternoon into Pakistani airspace near the Atlantique wreckage site, along the border between the Indian state of Gujarat and Pakistan's Sindh Province, and were then fired upon by Pakistan. U.S. and Indian television journalists traveling in one helicopter said the aircraft shook severely and a flash appeared in the air, suggesting a missile had been fired at it. The IAF thus aborted their mission to display Atlantique wreckage on Indian soil.[8]
Following this, and the rising tensions in the area coupled by the fact that the Sir Creek was a disptued territory, both the countries' militaries near the Rann of Kutch and nearby were put on high alert. Pakistan sent in a company of commandos, equipped with laser-guided, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles, to the site near the border. Coming barely weeks after the Kargil Conflict where both countries fought a high altitude warfare, this incident was seen with growing concern around the world. U.S. State Department termed the subcontinent as being in a state of "continued high-stakes tension".
Lawsuit
On September 21, 1999, Pakistan lodged a compensation claim at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, accusing India of shooting down an unarmed aircraft. Pakistan sought about $60 million in reparations from India and compensation for the victims' families. India argued that the court did not have jurisdiction, citing an exemption it filed in 1974 to exclude disputes between India and other Commonwealth States, and disputes covered by multi-lateral treaties. In the buildup to the case, India also contended that Pakistan had violated the 1991 bilateral agreement between Pakistan and India on air violations, which states "Combat aircraft (to include fighter, bomber reconnaissance, jet military trainer and armed helicopter aircraft) will not fly within 10 km of each other’s airspace including ADIZ." [4]
On June 22, 2000, the 15-judge Bench headed by Mr Gilbert Guillaume of France ruled - with a 14-2 verdict - upholding India's submission that the court had no jurisdiction in this matter.[9] Pakistan's claims were dropped and the outcome was seen as a decision highly favourable to India. The ruling was also a financial setback to the Pakistan government which had spent an enormous amount of money - close to 25 million Pakistani rupees (approx $400,000) - on the preparation of the case, much higher than what its Indian counterpart is believed to have spent. [10]
Aftermath
In India, the incident created instant heroes of the two pilots of the Mig-21s. On October 8, 2000, the prestigious "Vayu Sena" medal was awarded to Squadron Leader P.K. Bundela. The medal was also awarded to Wing Commander V.S. Sharma (the fighter controller who tracked the Atlantique, guided the pilot and ordered him to attack the plane) and Squadron Leader Pankaj Vishnoi, the helicopter pilot who recovered a part of the Atlantique's debris from the marshy border regions of the Rann.
The downing of the Pakistani aircraft came at a particularly bad juncture for Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was already under attack from right-wing conservatives for ordering a retreat of its troops in the Kargil War. Two months later he was deposed in an Army coup by Pervez Musharraf.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Pakistan's Defence Journal
- ^ INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS filed in the Registry of the International Court of Justice on 21 September, 1999 by Islamic Republic of Pakistan
- ^ a b Military Situation Report for 12 August 1999
- ^ a b Agreement Between India and Pakistan on the Advance Notice of Military Exercises - Hosted on Henry L. Stimson Center
- ^ Creek Crisis by Vijay Jung Thapa and Aahid Hussain and Uday Mahurkar August 23, 1999 India Today
- ^ Cold War in the Arabian Sea
- ^ Confidence Building Measures in South Asia – The Maritime Angle
- ^ a b Pakistan Attacks Indian Aircraft in Border Region By Pamela Constable and Kamran Khan August 12, 1999, Washington Post Cite error: The named reference "Globalpolicy" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ ICJ's Press Communique on the verdict
- ^ Govt comments sought in Atlantique case - Hosted on Pakistan's Dawn (newspaper).
References
- "Can't Stop the Madness". TIME. August 23-30, 1999 vol 154 NO. 7/8.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Indian Air Force account of the incident. (hosted by Bharat Rakshak)
- Pakistani side of the argument. Defence Journal Sep 99.
- Picture gallery of the aircraft wreckage.
- Propaganda War Over Plane Attack, BBC Online - Hosted on Global Policy Forum