Greece has raised concerns over a planned Turkish law that would incorporate the “Blue Homeland” doctrine and disputed “gray zone” claims into domestic legislation, a step seen by analysts as reinforcing Ankara’s wider maritime strategy and domestic political messaging.
Tensions escalated following reports that a Turkish missile boat harassed a cable-laying vessel between Astypalaia and Kos last week, an incident Athens views as part of a pattern of pressure linked to Turkey’s assertive maritime posture.
Under the draft bill, Turkey would formally define its maritime jurisdiction areas and reportedly grant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan authority to declare “bodies of water with special status.”
The legislation is expected to extend the reach of the “Blue Homeland” doctrine across the Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, waters around occupied Cyprus, and areas connected to Turkey’s maritime agreement with Libya.
The doctrine, developed by former Turkish naval officers, outlines claims over maritime zones, continental shelf rights and exclusive economic interests, and remains a long-standing source of dispute with Greece in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
The proposed framework also revisits the status of islands, islets and rock formations described as “gray zones,” which have periodically fuelled tensions between the two countries.
These issues are expected to be folded into the new law, which Ankara says will operate within the framework of the International Law of the Sea.
Source: Greek Reporter.
