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GREECE EXTENDS TERRITORIAL WATERS IN THE AEGEAN (UPDATES)

It's about time we dealt with the recent developments in Greece regarding the extension last week in the territorial waters of the Aegean Sea, from 6 to 12 nautical miles, marking the normalization of its maritime rights. It is obviously a contentious and technical issue that goes to established international law and old treaties in which the borders of Greece have been agreed. But nothing occurs in a vacuum. The context is the recent strengthening of Greece's international relations with the US with regard to Greece's role as an energy hub, channeling American liquid gas to eastern Europe, drilling concessions to American energy giants and the so called '3 + 1 framework', referring to the strategic alliance of Greece with Cyprus, Israel and the US pertaining to military and arms manufacturing cooperation between the nations. We dealt with these issues in-depth here. 

 


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The matter of the extension of the territorial waters is very technical. I am of course no expert in this field. I can only recount what has been reported in the media. Here are the facts as far as I have been able to establish them.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (link), both Greece and Turkey have the right to extend their territorial seas to 12 nautical miles. If Turkey were to do so, its maritime control in the Aegean would nearly double, gaining around 16,000 km² of additional sea space. 

However, Turkey has never exercised this right. Turkey avoids expanding its own territorial waters in the Aegean in order to deny Greece the same right. In 1995 the Turkish Parliament adopted a 'casus belli', stipulating that if Greece were to exercise this right, it would trigger a war with Turkey which is a blatant violation of the UN Charter.

Turkey frames its aggressive posture as defensive, using access to international waters and maintenance of the balance of power in the Aegean, as excuses for the irregular status quo. But its irredentist maritime Blue Homeland Doctrine (link) reveals Turkey's actual designs.


The threat of war is a tactic of intimidation designed to undermine Greece's sovereign rights, while advancing Turkey’s expansionist agenda in the Aegean, a hostile attempt against international law and regional stability.

At present Turkey’s sovereign rights in the Aegean are confined to its mainland coast and a belt of territorial waters that assure Turkey unrestricted access to international waters through sea routes, making the Turkish claim more of a political tool than a legal concern.

But Ankara frames its claim, promoting the false concept of a shared sea (link). The Aegean is predominantly under Greek maritime jurisdiction: all islands beyond 3 miles from the Turkish coast are Greek, and the sea is dotted with over 3,000 Greek islands that enjoy full maritime rights under international law.

While Turkey has not ratified UNCLOS, in 1964 it extended its own territorial waters in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean to 12 nautical miles, de facto recognizing the 12-nautical-mile limit as customary international law, which binds all states regardless of ratification.



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Turkish revisionism in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean undermines not only the sovereignty and security of EU member states, but also the very integrity of the EU’s external borders and the stability of the region.

Th EU's response in the Aegean will determine whether its borders remain protected by law—or are gradually destabilized by coercive measures. In this sense, the Aegean serves as a test case for the credibility of the European legal order itself.

Personally I believe that no support can be expected from the EU. They have been looking at the Cyprus issue for the last fifty years and have always chosen to give more weight to its good relations with Turkey than to its own member states. 

Last week we witnessed the demise of the post World War 2 'rules based order' at the World Economic Forum annual circus in Davos (link). It collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.

Compare the above situation to the proxy war with Russia 'for as long as it takes' over Ukraine's sovereign territory, or the ridiculous spectacle of sending a token 18 men army "to defend Greenland", and you will understand that law and justice is not the standard here, but political expediency. And then they're shocked when people no longer believe in the institutions!

Greece's PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his part is walking a very fine line between the membership of the EU and the strategic alliance with the US on the one hand, and on the other between international law and national self determination. 

On a Facebook post this weekend (link) he puts it like this: "Europe must remain united and maintain channels of cooperation with the US, even in times of tension". Greece is "seeking a role in Gaza", while not having joined Donald Trump's Board of Peace so far (link). 

Turkey's President Erdogan has joined the Gaza Board, much to the chagrin (and possible veto) of the Israelis. That's another fine line PM Mitsotakis has to navigate, while also allowing for the secondary dynamics of President Trump's strategies, such as making Muslim countries lose small fortunes if they jeopardize the Gaza Riviera project. 


External reading
Helleniscope: Greece Announces Expansion to 12-Mile Territorial Waters: Strategic Reckoning In the Aegean 
Keep Talking Greece: Greece will extend territorial waters in the Aegean, says FM Gerapetritis

For those following the Orthodox prophecies of Saint Paisios linked to the outbreak of a major war, please note that PM Mitsotakis remarked in his Facebook post that "the road axis from Dimario of Xanthi to the Greek-Bulgarian border" has been completed.

"A project of particular importance for the local community, as it improves mobility and broadens the economic activity of the wider region. This road is part of the vertical axis “Xanthi–Echinos–Greek-Bulgarian Borders” and is included in the trans-European transport network, constituting a tangible example of successful cooperation with our northern neighbors, Bulgaria and Romania, along the Baltic–Black Sea–Aegean corridor" (link).

Regarding the extension of the territorial waters, also please refer to our earlier posts on Orthodox prophecies (link). 



Update:
Turkey is upping the ante by issuing a Navtex navigational warning (link) valid for two years through to December 31, 2027 thereby asserting its authority to issue permits over roughly half the Aegean and claiming a demilitarized status for 23 Greek islands, moves visible to NATO allies (link). 

Update:
An interesting, historical overview by @Ictinus in an easy to read Threadreader Page. 



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