India-Pakistan missile scare: Past incidents of accidental launches in Israel, Russia, Spain, Taiwan

The "accidental firing" of a missile between two nuclear-powered nations on historically bad terms has once again raised the spectre of accidental war. Incidents of mistaken launches of deadly projectiles across the globe have occurred more often than the general public would be comfortable with.

On March 11, the Indian government confirmed that a missile had "accidentally" launched and fallen on Pakistani territory. The Indian defence ministry blamed a "technical malfunction" during "routine maintenance" for the incident, after Pakistan raised questions.

PAST INCIDENTS

On July 1, 2016, a Taiwanese naval vessel reportedly fired a supersonic antiship missile accidentally in the direction of the country's enemy nation China. The missile hit a fishing boat and killed the captain.

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In September 2017, Russian military chopper accidentally fired rockets on spectators during 'Zapad' war games. Two people seriously injured, and two vehicles were destroyed, according to reports.

On August 7, 2018, a Spanish fighter aircraft accidentally fired an air-to-air missile during military drills in Estonia near the Russian border, as per reports. Spain and Estonia are members of the NATO alliance.

On June 28, 2019, an Israeli Air Force fighter jet accidentally fired a missile into Syrian territory, as per reports.

On May 10, 2020, an Iranian missile fired during a training drill hit a support vessel near its target. At least 19 sailors were killed and around 15 wounded, as per reports.

INDIA-PAK PACT

In 2005, India and Pakistan signed a treaty to inform each other before flight testing of ballistic missiles. The agreement aimed to prevent "misunderstandings and misinterpretations" for a "stable environment".

According to the treaty, advance notification has to be given of flight testing of land or sea-launched, surface-to-surface ballistic missile. The other country has to be informed three days in advance about the missile tests.

The agreement also mandated that test launch sites cannot be situated within 40 km of the International Boundary or the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan. The planned impact area cannot be within 75 km of IB or LoC. The flight path of the missile cannot cross the IB or LoC, and maintain a horizontal distance of at least 40 km from the boundary, as per the pact.

PAK ON MISSILE INCIDENT

The Pakistan military claimed that the missile accidentally fired by India had travelled 124 km inside Pakistani territory, flying in its airspace for 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Reacting to the missile incident, the Pakistan Air Force reportedly claimed to have initiated "requisite tactical actions" in accordance with the standard operating procedure.