Türkiye Expands Its Maritime Footprint as Greece Cries Encroachment

Greece reacted with sharp alarm on Monday after Türkiye formally declared two "national marine parks" across the Eastern Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

Athens accused Ankara of attempting to project its maritime claims beyond sovereign waters.

The designations, authorized under presidential decrees signed on August 15 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cover areas Greece claims are part of its continental shelf.

Tit-for-Tat

The Turkish decrees follow Greece's own announcement in July 2025 detailing plans to establish marine national parks in the Ionian Sea and the Cyclades.

At the time, Ankara warned against unilateral maritime declarations in semi-enclosed seas, pledging to counter with its own environmental conservation projects.

Greek diplomats argue that the Turkish response undermines bilateral understanding.

Athens Claims Illegality

The Greek Foreign Ministry issued a swift condemnation, rejecting the legal validity of the Turkish decrees and asserting that environmental initiatives cannot establish unilateral facts on the ground.

"No State is entitled, according to the Law of the Sea, to unilaterally establish marine protected areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction," the ministry said in a statement.

Athens emphasized that the designations infringe directly on its sovereign domain in disputed waters.

"Furthermore, the marine parks in question are also illegal insofar as they extend within the Greek continental shelf. This is, therefore, an action that creates no legal effect whatsoever, either in respect of the high seas or in respect of Greece's rights over its continental shelf," the statement added.

Strategic Chokepoints

The geography of the newly designated zones sits at the core of Greek unease.

The largest reserve, designated as the Fethiye-Kas Marine National Park, spans 21,706 square kilometers across the provinces of Mugla and Antalya, extending into the maritime space surrounding the strategically vital Greek island of Kastellorizo.

A second reserve, the North Aegean Marine National Park, covers 1,742 square kilometers across Canakkale and Tekirdag provinces, situated between the Greek islands of Lemnos and Samothrace.

Greek officials view the encirclement of Kastellorizo with acute concern, as the island remains central to Athens' position that Greek islands generate full continental shelf and exclusive economic zone entitlements under international maritime law.