A bill <\/b>that will “regulate Turkey’s maritime jurisdiction zones” in its entirety” Turkey<\/b>, according to reports by Bloomberg <\/b> and the Milliyet<\/b> newspaper. <\/p>\n
In 2006, Jem Gurd\u00e9niz,<\/b> then director of Policy Planning at the headquarters of the Turkish Navy,<\/b> coined the term “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan)<\/b>. As Admiral (ret.) explained, years later (newspaper “To Vima”, 9-6-2020), it was a doctrine withtwo pillars:<\/b> on the one hand the suggestion of Turkish areas ofmaritime jurisdiction<\/b> (national sovereignty, <\/b>spatial waters, continental shelf, EEZ) and on the other hand the creation of a maritime worldview<\/b> for Ankara.<\/p>\n
The revisionist-expansionist doctrine, under which the neighbouring country claims 462,000 square<\/b> kilometres of maritime jurisdiction in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus and the Black Sea,<\/b> became state policy in October 2018. Then, speaking to Anadolu<\/b>, Turkish Defense Minister, Houloussi Akar<\/b>, officially unveiled the Map<\/b> of the “Blue Homeland”.<\/p>\n
Thirteen months later, in November 2019, the implementation<\/b> of the doctrine was launched, following the “maritime jurisdictions” memorandum of understanding signed by Ankara with the government of Tripoli<\/b> (one of two in Libya), known as the Turkish-Libyan<\/b> memorandum.<\/p>\n
Several years before it rolled out its maritime doctrine, the Turkish side attempted to predict<\/b> Greece’s actions. In June 1995, a week after the Greek parliament ratified the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS), the Turkish National Assembly gave the green light<\/b> to the Turkish government to consider a cause of war<\/b> the extension of Greek territorial waters in the Aegean beyond six nautical miles.<\/p>\nLegal claims<\/h3>\n
In light of Ankara’s long-standing revisionist strategy and its attempt to “normalize<\/b>” its illegal<\/b> claims, the reports by Bloomberg and Milliyet about a bill to be submitted to the Turkish parliament that would “regulate its maritime jurisdiction zones as a whole” are not surprising.<\/p>\n
“Turkey is preparing to take a new step<\/b> to strengthen its position in the seas, whose importance is growing, and to consolidate its legal basis. The government, with the participation of relevant state departments and experts, is working on a bill that aims to regulate Turkish maritime jurisdiction zones<\/b> in a coherent manner,” Milliyet wrote, claiming that the bill attempts to create a legal basis on Turkish maritime jurisdiction zones.<\/p>\n
A bill that would see Ankara claim maritime jurisdiction “in contested<\/b> areas of the Aegean and Mediterranean” was cited by Bloomberg, but noted that doing so “risks increasing tensions<\/b> in a region with potential gas deposits<\/b>.”<\/p>\n
Turkish media, both pro-government<\/b> and opposition<\/b>, claimed that this is a decision that, among other things, attempts to give Ankara a negotiating advantage in possible delimitations with neighboring countries and therefore the law, once passed, will be submitted to the UN<\/b>, while the possibility of a Greek reaction<\/b> was not omitted.<\/b><\/p>\n
So far the bill has not been submitted to the Turkish parliament, and it is worth noting that Turkey is one of the countries that have not ratified UNCLOS<\/b> (others are the US, Israel, etc.).<\/p>\nAthens on alert<\/h3>\n
Beyond the timing of the Turkish decision, the major question for Athens<\/b> is whether this action will be accompanied by greater scaling<\/b> on the ground by Ankara. Something that has been recorded increasingly lately (violations, harassment of a ship carrying out work south of Crete, raising alleged issues about the minority<\/b>, direct threats, etc.).<\/p>\n
In any case, Greece has taken dynamic actions<\/b> on its part in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean chessboard. In April 2025, Athens announced its Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)<\/b> and two months later it designated two marine parks: one in the Ionian Sea<\/b> and one in the South Aegean<\/b> (Southern Cyclades).<\/p>\n
Subsequently, last October, agreements<\/b> for exploration and exploitation in marine plots<\/b> south of the Peloponnese and Crete were signed, a joint venture between Chevron and Helleniq Energy<\/b>. In particular, the exploration in the sea blocks south of Crete constitutes, among other things, recognition of the Greek EEZ and the cancellation in substance of the Turcovician turkish<\/b> treaty. While the maritime zone delimitations with Italy and Egypt<\/b><\/p>\n
should not be forgotten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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