Demarcating maritime zones

An article by Vassilis Nedos which appeared in Kathimerini's Sunday edition on May 10, titled "Ankara's militarization on Athens' radar," refers to Rear Admiral Cihat Yayci's book "Requirements of Greece: The Problems in the Aegean with Questions and Answers," which was published recently by the Turkish Navy.

In this work, the report says, the Turkish side appears to have revived the old and outdated argument that the delineation of a continental shelf and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) hinges upon geological characteristics. The two concepts, the argument goes, have a geological dimension and, as a result, Greece's easternmost Aegean islands sit on the continental shelf and EEZ of Asia Minor's continental land mass; they constitute the natural extension of Turkey's land territory along the seabed. As a result, the argument goes, islands do not have the power to...