Claims by some of Greece’s political elite that the Aegean Sea is not a “Greek lake” because it would impede international navigation are completely unfounded uneducated and treacherous. Greece’s Aegean territorial sea extension is a game changer. All coastal states around the world, whose ships might supposedly be hindered by a “Greek lake,” have established a 12 nm territorial sea, with the exceptions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan (which cannot do so due to its geography), and Greece. Greece is the only state whose geography allows for a 12 nm territorial sea, but it reserves the right to establish this in the future.
Even with a 12 nm territorial sea, navigation in the Aegean would not be impeded in the least, as ships from all states enjoy the right of innocent passage (Articles 17-32 of UNCLOS), while the right of passage (Articles 37-44 of UNCLOS) or the right of innocent passage (Article 45 of UNCLOS) specifically applies to internationally navigable straits (Articles 34-36 of UNCLOS) on a case-by-case basis.
On the issue of the territorial sea, Greece has solid legal and political arguments, and its potential extension in the Aegean is one of its strongest geopolitical tools. Not only because the right to extend its territorial sea is unilateral, not subject to any agreement, negotiation, or disputed delimitation (the latter being determined by the simple method of the median line/maximum distance according to Article 15 of UNCLOS), but also because if this right is exercised, many arbitrary and unilateral Turkish claims—such as the non-recognition of Greece’s 4 nm airspace beyond its territorial sea, the control areas within the Athens FIR, and the contestation of the SAR zone—would be nullified.
Finally, extending Greece’s territorial sea to 12 nm would minimize the importance of delimiting the continental shelf and EEZ in the Aegean Sea. With thousands of Greek islands in the Aegean, most of Greece’s continental shelf would be considered national seabed. As a result, the areas to be delimited would be drastically reduced, and, except for those areas of no interest to Turkey, would not exceed 5% of the Aegean’s surface area. This is why, without negotiating the extent of Greece’s territorial sea, Turkey has little interest in delimiting the remaining maritime zones.
The Aegean is a Greek lake because it is bounded on the east by the Greek mainland coast and on the west by the Greek islands. If Greece exercises its unilateral right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, then more than 71% of the Aegean is national territory and almost all of the EEZ will belong to Greece. Turkey is limited only to the maritime zone between the Greek islands and the coast of Asia Minor. Only Turkey and those who adopt Turkish views claim that the Aegean is not a Greek sea.
1. Geography, ownership of 3000 islands almost 95%
2. The Lausanne treaty explicitly states there is no ownership of islands for Turkey beyond, as many as 3 miles from the Asia Minor coast (*Note not nautical miles)
3. International law, 12 nm islands have a continental shelf x.y. maritime zones and small islands
