Dorian Jones’s article on the rfi.fr website concerning Turkey’s expanding naval capabilities misses the mark in some crucial areas of geopolitical reality. Essentially Dorian Jones whose roots are current administration deep state thinking, proposes that Turkey’s naval expansion is causing concern in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. Greece concerned over Turkey’s growing naval expansion.
Jones repeats Turkish state positions on the reason for Turkey’s Navak expansion writing :
Turkey is undergoing an unprecedented naval expansion, positioning itself as one of Europe’s largest naval powers. While some neighbours are alarmed, Ankara insists the build-up is defensive and meant to meet growing regional commitments.
“We must have a strong and effective navy to live in peace on our lands,” said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after commissioning the latest of six planned submarines.
Along with a new helicopter carrier, frigates and over a dozen warships under construction, this is part of Erdogan’s push to bolster the Turkish navy.
“It fits Erdogan’s political agenda of exerting influence overseas, from Qatar to Somalia to Libya,” said Serhat Guvenc, a professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
“For the navy, it means a greater role in the defence of the country – no longer just territorial, but forward defense from overseas.”
What Jones misses here is Erdogans Mavi Vatan, and Ble homeland policy, not to mention Erdogan’s ambition to establish the Ottoman Empire. Lacking key strategic policy choices leaves the article lacking in clarity on the geopolitical mechanations in the region.
Who is Dorian Jones?
Dorian Jones is a journalist and broadcaster known for his reporting on political and social issues in Turkey and the broader Middle East. With a career spanning several decades, Jones has built a reputation for of regional conflicts, human rights, and geopolitical dynamics. He has worked with major international media outlets, including the BBC, and VOA- the Voice of America, where he has provided analysis and reports from the ground.
Turkey’s military footprint abroad now includes bases in Qatar, Libya, and Somalia, accompanied by naval agreements. Ankara argues that its naval expansion is a response to increasing regional threats.
Mesut Casin, a Turkish presidential adviser and professor at Yeditepe University, highlights the relevance of Turkey’s naval modernization for NATO and Western allies, particularly in securing oil routes and navigation. He also references regional conflicts in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, and Red Sea as contributing to Turkey’s strategic needs.
Turkey has been assertive in showcasing its enhanced naval capabilities. Four years ago, Turkish warships were reportedly involved in a confrontation with a French NATO vessel enforcing an arms embargo in Libya.
Regional tensions are palpable, particularly with Greece, which has expressed concern due to ongoing territorial disputes with Turkey in the Aegean and Mediterranean. Israel has also voiced alarm over Turkey’s naval expansion, including the use of military drones in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus. Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, suggests that Turkey’s naval advancements might be aimed at Israel, though this doesn’t necessarily mean direct conflict is imminent.
Jones’s work although attempting to paint the picture lacks clarity specially by holding comprehensive information on the complexities shaping the region. Turkye flagrantly flaunts UN resolution to prohibit arms delivery to Lybia demanding that all shops be searched.
Regional concerns
Greece, with longstanding territorial disputes with Turkey in the Aegean and Mediterranean, has voiced particular concern. Israel, too, has raised alarms over Turkey’s naval growth, including military drones deployed in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus.
What Jones lacks here is giving any reader the full story. There is no dispute on Greece’s territorial demarcation which is defined by the treaties of Lausan and Serves. Greece faces, further Turkish expansionism after Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians were ethnically cleansed. With the Help of the Germans, the systematically planned and executed policy of Genocide perpetrated on the Greek population of Asia Minor amounts to crime awaiting its right and just punishment.
The article goes on: “Some of Turkey’s naval moves, like the UAV base in Northern Cyprus, could be aimed at Israel,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
“This doesn’t mean again there will be a direct confrontation, but it does mean that it is something that the Israeli army has to calculate for.”
Greece is also modernising its navy in response to what it sees as the Turkish threat. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently reaffirmed the need for a “deterrent power” against Turkey. But it’s not only Greece that will have lost in a potential Turkish expansion. Europe and European influence will come in to question in the eastern Mediterranean.
Growing military buildup in Azerbaijan and Armenia a concern for peace talks
Meanwhile, Israel’s growing naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the deployment of advanced naval assets and joint military exercises with regional partners, is adding to Turkish concerns.
“The Turkish military has begun to feel concerned about the deployment of its [Israel’s] nuclear missile capable submarines in the Mediterranean,” said naval expert Guvenc.
“As long as they were in the Red Sea or Indian Ocean, it wasn’t a problem. But once they shifted to the Mediterranean, it became a potential threat.”
Guvenc is warning that escalating regional suspicions risks spiraling out of control.
“It’s a vicious circle. Turkey built a new navy to address threats, and now its neighbors feel threatened by Turkey’s naval growth. This is how arms races start, and they don’t tend to end well.”
Turkish shipyards are working at full capacity to meet the country’s growing naval demands. Analysts say this will likely only deepen fears and tensions with its neighbours.
There can be no concessions to Turkey whether it’s expanding its military or not. Greece has no more to give. It is time that Greece demanded the return of its natural and ancestral homelands and took action to ensure that any further provocations by Turkey would come at a heavy cost.
