Turkey keeps the pressure in Eastern Med

In a move that essentially serves to underline Turkish claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara has issued three navigational telexes (navtexes 1291/18, 1298/18 and 1299/18) reserving a sea area for naval exercises and seismic surveys by its research vessel Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa.

The area stretches from the eastern edge of Greece's continental shelf near the Dodecanese island of Kastellorizo to blocks 4 and 5 in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), thus the navtexes appear designed to dispute Greece's and Cyprus's bordering EEZs.

Turkey's increased activity in the Eastern Med has been accompanied by a barrage of press reports regarding steps to further militarize Cyprus's Turkish-occupied north. Ankara is reportedly planning to establish a naval base in the area next year.

In a related development, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said Tuesday that...