Greek diplomacy went on alert this week following Turkey’s deployment of five warships off the coast of the southeast Aegean island of Kasos – located between Karpathos and Crete – acting as an “escort” to an Italian vessel conducting research for a possible undersea cable laying near the island.
The Hellenic Navy has responded by sending surface vessels to the area.
In a pointed response to recent tensions, The Turkish state issued an “Anti-NAVTEX” in an attempt to counter a previous Greek NAVTEX (Notice to Mariners) precluding the research vessel from operating in waters the Greek side considers as forming its EEZ, as based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Citing the baseless and self-recognized Turkey-Libya memorandum, Ankara asserts that part of the research area falls within its claimed EEZ. Its “anti-NAVTEX” references a 2020 letter sent to the United Nations to brief the international community over the most prominent instance of “Turkography” in recent memory, when the Turkish state and the interim government in Tripoli attempted to delimitate Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) between their disparate land masses by erasing every Greek island and territory in between, including the large island of Crete.
What Ankara claims as “Turkish EEZ” is anything farther than six nautical miles from any Greek island, despite the nearest Turkish territory being up to hundreds of nautical miles away.
Ankara has also stated that all research activities in the so-called “Turkish maritime jurisdiction” must be coordinated with relevant Turkish authorities
Turkey has deployed two frigates and a corvette south of Kasos and Karapathos, later reinforcing them with an additional two missile boats. Greek naval forces in the area include a gunboat, a frigate and a coast guard vessel, all operating in the same region.
The developments shave triggered a diplomatic flurry between the two neighboring countries, although the Greek foreign ministry has so far not issued an official statement.
