Greece Warns Turkey Against Revisionism Amid Aegean Maritime Tensions

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias during his sojourn to Agathonisi, wherever helium warned Turkey against revisionist maritime claims successful the Aegean. Credit: Evangelos Karaiskos / AMNA

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias warned Turkey against challenging Greece’s sovereignty and maritime rights successful the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean during a sojourn connected Thursday to the tiny eastbound Aegean land of Agathonisi.

His remarks came amid reports that the authorities of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is preparing authorities to formally specify Turkey’s maritime jurisdiction areas. Greek officials fearfulness the draught measure could springiness home ineligible signifier to Ankara’s disputed “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which Athens considers revisionist, baseless, and irredentist.

Greek islands person afloat rights nether UNCLOS

Echoing caller comments by Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, Dendias stressed that each Greek islands person the afloat rights provided nether the United Nations Convention connected the Law of the Sea, known arsenic UNCLOS.

“All our islands person precisely the rights provided for nether the UN Convention connected the Law of the Sea—neither much nor less,” helium said. “The Aegean, similar each seas, tin beryllium a spot of relationship and coexistence, but lone if rules exist. And those rules are planetary instrumentality and the instrumentality of the sea.”

The expected Turkish authorities would reportedly let Erdogan to designate definite maritime areas arsenic having “special status.” It would enactment Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” claims successful the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, astir occupied Cyprus, and successful areas linked to Ankara’s maritime statement with Libya.

Athens views the determination arsenic some a effect to Greece’s caller maritime spatial readying initiatives wrong the European Union and an effort by Turkey to reenforce its claims for home governmental consumption.

Greece fears Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine

Former Turkish naval officers drafted the “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which refers to Turkey’s claims implicit maritime jurisdiction zones, continental support rights, and exclusive economical interests successful surrounding seas. Turkey has agelong presented the doctrine arsenic a cardinal pillar of its nationalist information strategy and geopolitical outlook. However, it remains astatine the halfway of disputes with Greece implicit the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The draught authorities reportedly states that Ankara is reviewing the ineligible presumption of islands, islets, and stone formations, which Turkey collectively refers to arsenic “gray zones.” These geographical features person periodically triggered tensions betwixt Greece and Turkey, peculiarly successful the Aegean. Their designation and presumption are expected to beryllium incorporated into the projected “Blue Homeland Law,” reportedly wrong what Ankara describes arsenic the model of planetary maritime law.