Turkey and Greece exchanged Navtex warnings on Wednesday and tension between the two neighboring countries escalated quickly, after the Greek Armed Forces launched a medium-scale military readiness drill and Ankara responded immediately with a counter-drill also in the Aegean Sea.
Challenging sovereignty of Greek islands
Turkey issued a Navtex reiterating Ankara’s claim that a number of Greek islands should be demilitarized. In its Navtex, Turkey listed 23 islands, that is “Thassos, Agios Efstratios, Psara, Samothrace, Lemnos, Lesvos, Chios, Ikaria, Samos, Astypalaia, Rhodes, Halki, Karpathos, Kasos, Tilos, Nisyros, Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos, Lipsi, Symi, Kos and Kastelorizo”, that should be demilitarized and asserting that “military activity should not be conducted in the territorial waters of those islands.”
It further warned that any military activities in these areas “may endanger the safety of navigation in violation of international treaties.”
A new Turkish Navtex issued earlier today, bind the maritime area, extending from the east of Andros and Tinos to the northwest of Samos, for aeronautical exercises without firing, which are expected to be carried out tomorrow, Thursday, September 18, from 5:00 to 9:00 in the morning.
Turkey’s vessel “Piri Reis”
It is worth noting that on September 14, a Turkish Navtex was announcing that the oceanographic research vessel “Piri Reis” would conduct scientific surveys on hydrocarbon in areas of the Aegean Sea. And it should be recalled that surveys of “Piri Reis” in parts of the Aegean Sea are Red Flag in the eyes of Greece.
The spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry in Athens said ithat “Greece is closely monitoring the progress of the “Piri Reis”, remaining on the alert, and will safeguard its sovereign rights in all events.”
As she pointed out, Greece issued an anti-Navtex, as planned, and so far there has been no movement by the oceanographic ship.
Violations of Greek FIR
However, the issue did not end with the exchange of Navtex and anti-Navtex: The General Staff of the Greek Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday afternoon that a ATR-72 naval cooperation aircraft and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) committed two violations of national airspace and two violations of the Athens FIR in the southeastern Aegean Sea today.
Meanwhile, the Greek exercise continued as scheduled with the participation reportedly of the entire Naval Fleet, 60 fighter jets and units of special forces deployed to 30 islands and army formations in the northern border region of Evros.
*NAVTEX in an international automated medium frequency direct-printing service for delivery of navigational and meteorological warnings and forecasts.
