GEORGE X. PROTOPAPAS
The Eastern Mediterranean has become the epicenter of maritime and geopolitical developments as great powers, regional actors antagonise for influence and access to energy resources. Greece a traditional maritime nation could play a constructive role on the stabilisation of the region.
Since 2012 US has decided to intensify its role in Asia – Pacific, neglecting, in a sense, the frozen issues in the Eastern Mediterranean (East Med). Accordingly, the US reduced the Six Fleet’s naval presence, which has currently a single command ship in Italy and four Aegis destroyers. Naturally, the reason for the Pacific shift has been the emergence of China that invests huge resources at sea. What is important in our East Med context, is that the frozen and unfinished business in the East Med have costed dearly and the bill has arrived sooner than expected. Previously inactive actors (Iran, Russia) and Turkey have now become active. Each one of them are squeezing themselves in to get a piece of the pie; a pie that has been created and (peculiarly) left unattended by its maker: the US. Paradoxically, none of these actors has ever been genuine maritime nation or maritime power. The concepts of maritime nation and power integrate the cultural element (history and tradition), geography, the commercial activities (commercial fleet) and naval power.
