With a highly provocative and irony-laden approach, the Turkish press is bringing the issue of expanding Greek territorial waters to 12 nautical miles back to the forefront. Turkish analysts now appear to be... encouraging Athens to exercise its legal right, claiming that such a move would ultimately work to Turkey's advantage. Behind this paradoxical "urging" lies an arbitrary interpretation of Aegean geography and the principle of reciprocity. According to this reasoning, if Greece expands its sovereign rights, Turkey will respond with a corresponding expansion, resulting—due to the proximity of the Greek islands to the Asia Minor coast—in hundreds of islands, islets, and rocky outcrops of the archipelago automatically becoming "trapped" within Turkish territorial waters.
"Greece must extend its territorial waters to 12 miles!" is the title of an article by Muhammet Kutlu in the Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit.
"Yes, you did not read that wrong. Greece must extend its territorial waters to 12 miles without wasting any time. This is the neighbor's most natural right. By saying this, let it not be thought that I was frightened by that self-confident walk exhibited by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as he arrived at the NATO summit. I am being serious, meaning… Let me explain: If you remember, the Greek Prime Minister, during the press conference he gave in Ankara within the framework of the NATO summit, putting hospitality aside, put forward the claim that 'My country faces a continuous threat of war originating from Turkey,'" writes the Turkish columnist, and continues with... ironies regarding the Greek Prime Minister, whom he refers to by the diminutive "Mico," noting "Mitsos (I call him that due to neighboring familiarity), in the same speech, brought to the forefront the possibility of expanding territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 miles as a 'legal right' based on international law. When he mentioned the 12 nautical miles and so on, I also thought about this matter for a bit. As a result, I became convinced that Greece must extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles as soon as possible. Of course Greece must extend its territorial waters to 12 miles. Especially if behind it stands a genocidal dwarf-superpower like Zionist Israel, no one can hold it back."
The... other dimension of the issue
And at this point, the Turkish columnist unfolds his provocative theory, "reminding that in the context of navigation and geography, 12 nautical miles correspond to 22.224 kilometers, I would humbly like to highlight another dimension of the issue. Yes, Greece must extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, meaning to 22.224 kilometers. On the other hand, as is known, dozens of small and large islands of Greece are located much closer to Turkey than 22.224 kilometers. Let us examine this side of the issue as well: There are hundreds of Greek islands, islets, and rocky outcrops whose distance from the coasts of Turkey is less than 22 kilometers (meaning about 12 nautical miles). Although it is not possible to give an exact number due to the fact that the Aegean Sea, because of its geographical structure, includes thousands of small and large formations, about 10-12 main islands that are inhabited, tourist-oriented, and of major geographical importance are located well below this limit (of 12 miles).
While the closest island to the Turkish coast is Kastellorizo (Meis) at 2.1 km, the other main islands are located at distances ranging between 8 km and 18 km.
The approximate distances of some of the main Greek islands located closest to Turkey are as follows:
Island of Samos (Sisam): Its distance from Kusadasi is approximately 1 kilometer.
Island of Chios (Sakız): It is about 8 km from the Cesme area of Izmir.
Island of Lesbos (Midilli): At a distance of approximately 17 km (9 nautical miles) from the Ayvalik area of Balikesir.
Island of Rhodes: It is 18 km at the closest point to the coasts of Fethiye and Marmaris of Mugla.
Island of Kos (Kos): The distance of its closest point to the coasts of Bodrum is approximately 4 kilometers.
Island of Symi (Sömbeki): It is located at a distance of 6 - 8 km from the Datca and Bozburun peninsulas."
On the other hand, always according to the same writer, "many other islands of the Dodecanese complex, such as Leros, Kalymnos, Patmos, and Leros, as well as dozens of small islets/rocky outcrops around them, are also located much closer than 22 kilometers to the coasts of Turkey."
"We will take the Dodecanese"
Subsequently, the Turkish columnist, invoking the principle of reciprocity, argues "just as it is natural for our neighbor and ally in NATO, Greece, to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles, it is equally natural for Turkey to extend its own territorial waters to 12 miles based on the principle of reciprocity.
However, when Greece extends its territorial waters to 12 miles, if Turkey also extends them to 12 miles, given that the 12 islands (Dodecanese) and hundreds of small and large islands and rocky formations around them will automatically find themselves within the territorial waters of Turkey, they will be integrated into Turkey. For this reason, there is no obstacle from our side for Greece to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles. On the contrary, we would even be pleased. Whether Greece will be pleased with the result, well, that I do not know."
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