10.11.2018 : 17:35
Angelos Syrigos
Following his resignation from the post of foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias said that Greece was ready to extend its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles. This came as surprise to Greece’s political parties and drew a strong reaction from Turkey, which claimed that any extension of Greece’s territorial waters in the Aegean would be considered a casus belli. Here I would like to examine some of the most important questions related to a possible extension of Greek territorial waters.
What are territorial waters?
Territorial waters (also known as territorial sea) are a belt of sea adjacent to the shores of a state. This zone includes the water column, seabed below and airspace above it. States have full sovereignty in this area. The only restriction to this sovereignty is the right of innocent passage enjoyed by all ships without prior notification of the coastal state. Since the 1970s, all coastal states in the world (except Greece) have expanded their territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. This customary rule is stipulated by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Following his resignation from the post of foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias said that Greece was ready to extend its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles. This came as surprise to Greece’s political parties and drew a strong reaction from Turkey, which claimed that any extension of Greece’s territorial waters in the Aegean would be considered a casus belli. Here I would like to examine some of the most important questions related to a possible extension of Greek territorial waters.
What are territorial waters?
Territorial waters (also known as territorial sea) are a belt of sea adjacent to the shores of a state. This zone includes the water column, seabed below and airspace above it. States have full sovereignty in this area. The only restriction to this sovereignty is the right of innocent passage enjoyed by all ships without prior notification of the coastal state. Since the 1970s, all coastal states in the world (except Greece) have expanded their territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. This customary rule is stipulated by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
