Mavi Boncuk |
Greece and Italy signed an agreement Tuesday that marks the maritime boundary in the Ionian Sea between the exclusive economic zones of the two European Union members.
The deal is “an important development” and shows Greece’s constant goal is to delimit maritime zones with all its neighbors, with valid agreements that adhere to international law -- unlike Turkey’s agreement with Libya, Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Dendias said in Athens, following the signing of the accord with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio.
On April 30, 1982, in New York, Turkey was one of four countries that did not sign the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III). Turkey denies the existence of the EEZ concept. Turkey argued unsuccessfully that islands are not entitled to a continental shelf/EEZ. Turkey argues that the islands which lie on the opposite side of the median line between two mainlands cannot create maritime jurisdiction areas. Turkey also highlights the importance of comparative coastal lengths and the principle of equitable delimitation. Accordingly, it argues that the Greek islands and the western front of Cyprus should not be given any maritime jurisdiction other than territorial waters. Turkey claims it has maritime borders with Egypt and Libya, and the only way to claim this is to insist that Greece has no maritime border with Cyprus.
The Government of Turkey has not accepted the proposal of Greek governments since July 1974 to refer the Aegean dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Turkey reached an agreement on the delimitation of the EEZ with the former Soviet Union which used the equidistance method. Turkey came to a similar agreement with Bulgaria and Romania concerning the delimitation of their respective EEZs in the Black Sea.
For the curious: Turkey develops indigenous software for new coastal surveillance system.
Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) announced it has developed an indigenous software for the Turkish Coast Guard’s new surveillance and radar system to ensure security along the Aegean Sea coastline and they have delivered the first software package of the Coast Surveillance Radar System (SGRS) project to the Turkish Coast Guard Command and added that the entire system has been developed by local sources..
The project’s software components were developed by defense company Havelsan while the radar and electro-optical systems were produced by another Turkish defense giant ASELSAN.
The first software package includes radar, camera sensor controls, video sharing and recording capabilities. Demir said they will introduce two other software packages containing additional features for the system.
The SGRS project will be fully integrated with other public institutions and provide uninterrupted surveillance along the coastline to enhance search and rescue efforts and prevent illegal activities such as human smuggling, irregular migration and violations of Turkish territorial waters, Demir stated.
As part of the SGRS project, the Coast Guard Command aims to create a custom-made nautical chart of the Turkey's territorial waters by compiling data from automated identification and electro-optic systems as well as data obtained from other public institutions. The Coast Guard will set up coastline and maritime surveillance information networks for the effective sharing of information between surveillance stations, coast guard units and other military and government institutions.
Ensuring the security of the coasts along the Aegean Sea has gained special prominence in recent years as Turkey and Greece have become one of the key transit points for refugees and migrants aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially for those fleeing wars and persecution. Greece's repeated violations in Turkish coastal waters in the Aegean Sea have also escalated tensions between the two countries.
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