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The authorities being drafted by Turkey to formalize its claims implicit the seas surrounding it has not been published. All the accusation we person astir it comes exclusively from controlled and intelligibly selective leaks to the media. Its cardinal points look to beryllium the following:
a) Turkey is surrounded by unfastened and semi-enclosed seas, which are governed by wholly antithetic rules from those that use to oceans. In these seas, the Greek islands and Cyprus (which is besides an island) suffer their rights to a continental support and an exclusive economical zone (EEZ) due to the fact that they prevarication astatine a region of up to 200 nautical miles from the Turkish mainland. Therefore, the oversea borderline betwixt Greece and Turkey runs down the mediate of the Aegean Sea, serving arsenic the dividing enactment betwixt the rights of the Greek and Turkish mainlands. The Greek islands eastbound of that enactment are covered by the continental support and EEZ of the Turkish continental coast, meaning that they prevarication within Turkey’s “maritime territory.” This is the crux of Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan) doctrine.
b) Apart from territorial waters, the continental support and the EEZ, the authorities besides refers to a “contiguous zone.” This is simply a maritime zone that begins where territorial waters extremity and extends up to 24 nautical miles from the shore. Within that zone, a state prevents and punishes violations of its customs, immigration, oregon nationalist wellness laws committed within its territory. What Turkey is attempting, successful effect, is to preclude the anticipation of Greece declaring a “contiguous zone” of its ain alternatively than extending its territorial waters successful the Aegean.
Once it is passed, Turkey’s diplomats will person a ineligible work to uphold the instrumentality … Turkey is, successful effect, closing the doorway connected negotiations
c) The authorities would springiness the Turkish president the authorization to state “maritime areas with special status,” beyond the known zones (territorial waters, “contiguous zone,” continental support and EEZ). Some of the rights stemming from the 1982 Law of the Sea, which Turkey has refused to motion and ratify, would beryllium exercised successful a constricted mode successful these “alla Turca” zones. This proviso is apt included for the marine parks Turkey has “established” betwixt the islands of Limnos and Samothraki, and astir Kastellorizo, successful unfastened oversea areas.
d) The authorities reflects Greek territorial waters successful the Aegean successful their existent state, astatine a breadth of 6 nautical miles, and seeks to found a variety of zones aft the constituent where they end. It would besides springiness the Turkish equipped forces the authorization to intervene and enforce its applicable provisions. This would let Turkey to support the casus belli – without exposing itself to disapproval – successful the lawsuit that Greece extends its territorial waters.
e) Turkey would prohibit each activities successful these areas (fishing, seismic research, hydrocarbon exploitation, technological probe and biology protection) unless it has archetypal approved and licensed them. By doing so, it would legitimize its actions with cable-laying activities implicit the three years and obstruct hydrocarbon surveys successful the blocks south of Crete.
f) The “Turkish straits” – meaning the Dardanelles, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara – would nary longer beryllium regarded arsenic “international straits,” but arsenic “internal Turkish waters.”
There is nary uncertainty that there are besides home reasons why this authorities is being brought to the House. Turkish nationalist sentiment has been watching with mounting interest arsenic Greece sends combatant jets and ships to Cyprus, installs radars connected Karpathos with NATO’s blessings, deploys anti-missile systems to Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia, and sends assistance to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
When the authorities is passed, however, it will beryllium an interior papers that will not person immoderate planetary effect under its provisions, which tally contrary to planetary instrumentality and practice. Furthermore, astir each proviso entailed successful the authorities has been raised by Turkey astatine 1 constituent oregon different since 1974. It could, therefore, beryllium brushed disconnected arsenic “more of the same.” But that is not the case, due to the fact that ratification of the instrumentality would correspond a leap successful Turkish maritime claims – to get a term used by youngsters, it would beryllium “next-level.”
Once it is passed, Turkey’s diplomats will person a ineligible work to uphold the law. When Greece argues that their claims are contrary to planetary law, they will respond that they are successful accordance with nationalist legislation. Turkey is, successful effect, closing the doorway connected negotiations. What’s more, erstwhile the authorities is passed, it will beryllium highly hard to person it amended. We person encountered this occupation clip and again since 1995, when Turkey’s parliament passed the casus belli proviso for the lawsuit that Greece extends its territorial waters. “Alas, we cannot abolish it,” Turkish diplomats would claim, unofficially.
As for the absorption from Greece, it has the subject strength to transportation connected with its internationally ineligible activities successful its maritime zones.
Angelos Syrigos is an subordinate prof of planetary instrumentality and overseas argumentation astatine Athens’ Panteion University and an MP with ruling New Democracy.
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