Turkey’s reported plan to submit a bill to parliament asserting maritime jurisdiction over disputed areas of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean marks a serious escalation in one of the region’s most sensitive maritime disputes. The proposed legislation would reportedly formalize Ankara’s claims in contested waters believed to contain existing or potential natural gas resources. If submitted and passed, the bill would give Turkey’s long-standing claims a stronger domestic legal basis and could influence future exploration, drilling, and naval activity.

Ankara appears to be trying to convert disputed maritime positions into national legislation, making them harder to reverse and easier to defend politically.

Ankara appears to be trying to convert disputed maritime positions into national legislation, making them harder to reverse and easier to defend politically.

The bill could also justify Turkish activity in areas claimed by Greece, Cyprus, and others, adding pressure to fragile diplomacy.

Historical and Legal Roots

The dispute is rooted in geography and competing interpretations of international law. Many Greek islands lie close to the Turkish mainland, creating a difficult maritime map. Greece, as a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, argues that its islands are entitled to territorial waters, continental shelf rights, and Exclusive Economic Zones. Turkey, which has not ratified UNCLOS, rejects what it sees as an unfair application of island-based maritime rights.

Ankara argues that giving full maritime effect to Greek islands near Turkey’s coast would severely restrict Turkish access to the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish officials have long warned that this would effectively turn the Aegean into a “Greek lake.” Greece insists that its islands have rights under international law and that disputes should be settled through legal mechanisms rather than pressure or military signaling.

At present, both Greece and Turkey maintain six nautical miles of territorial waters in the Aegean. Greece reserves the right under UNCLOS to extend its territorial waters to twelve nautical miles. Turkey has warned that such a unilateral move in the Aegean would be treated as a casus belli.

At present, both Greece and Turkey maintain six nautical miles of territorial waters in the Aegean. Greece reserves the right under UNCLOS to extend its........

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