Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s defence ministry said Ankara has issued a maritime notice urging Greece to coordinate on all research activities in parts of the Aegean Sea that Turkey considers its continental shelf.
Maritime notice and dispute over research activities
Turkey recently issued a Navtex, a legal advisory message to mariners, outlining objections to Greece’s activities in the Aegean Sea that Ankara says violate international law and demanding coordination.
In a first, Ankara issued the notice without an expiration date. Previous advisories from both sides were temporary and issued in response to respective activities in the region.
Background to Aegean tensions
Turkey and Greece, NATO allies and historic rivals, have improved ties in recent years but remain at odds over the boundaries of their continental shelves in the Aegean, an area believed to hold significant energy potential and with implications for overflights and airspace.
The move could potentially fuel tensions between the allies as they seek energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean and could affect operations by vessels of companies operating in the area.
Territorial waters and talks
Earlier this month, Greece’s foreign minister said the government had plans to extend its territorial waters further, including potentially in the Aegean Sea.
In 1995, the Turkish parliament declared a “casus belli”, or cause for war, if Greece unilaterally extended its waters beyond six nautical miles in the Aegean, a position Athens says violates international maritime law.
Greece says the only issue it is prepared to discuss with Turkey is the demarcation of their maritime zones, including continental shelves and exclusive economic zones.
How should Greece and Turkey proceed on coordinating research activities in the Aegean Sea?
