The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is Starting to Get Crowded

Information Dissemination ^

[jhpigott]

As regional powers attempt to rise, other regional powers will react. This is particularly true in this era of globalization. Turkey is now riding a learning curve. Here is how the latest is unfolding.

Turkey warned Thursday it will declare a border on the continental shelf if the island of Cyprus proceeds with offshore oil and gas drilling activities.

The Foreign Ministry's announcement came a day after Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias announced that U.S. firm Noble Energy will soon begin exploratory drilling to confirm deposits beneath the sea bed off Cyprus' southern coast despite Turkey's attempts to prevent such a move.

The undersea boundary has been among the most contentious issues in Greek-Turkish relations, with each country trying to mark out where on the continental shelf it can exploit seabed oil and mineral deposits in the Aegean Sea.

A move by Turkey to declare such a border would aggravate relations with Greece and Cyprus, which is divided into an EU-member Greek south and a breakaway Turkish north.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a sovereign country and strongly objects to the Greek Cypriot search for mineral deposits inside the island's exclusive economic zone. It insists that Cyprus has no right to go ahead with the search before a settlement to reunify the divided island can be reached. In a globalized world things are more complicated than small disputes between neighbors, particularly when one adds resource rights into the picture. Enter another regional power, one that has a history of pushing back when being pushed around.

Russia has sent two nuclear-powered submarines to patrol Eastern Mediterranean waters around Cyprus and enforce the island's right to explore for undersea oil and gas in its territorial seas, according to information from Defencenet.gr, citing a Russian FM spokesman.

Alexander Lukashevich said that Russia supports Cyprus and guarantees its security if it is threatened: "Under the UN Convention on International Law, among 162 other signatory states, including Cyprus, each state has sovereign rights in its EEZ for exploring, exploiting and protecting both live and non-living natural resources, including water, the seabed and subsoil," said Lukashevich in comments made on August 19th and reported by Defencenet.gr (in Greek).

So far there has been no reaction from the foreign ministry on reports that Russian submarines will be sent to protect Cyprus from any potential military threat from Turkey. A telephone call to the foreign ministry for comment has not yet been returned. A telephone call to the press attache at the Russian Embassy in Nicosia has also not yet been returned.

The submarines are due in early September and are being interpreted as a clear warning to Turkey to stay away from Noble Energy's drilling sites in Block 12. Noble is set to start exploring for undersea gas at the beginning of October along with Israeli energy company DELEK, which has reached an agreement with Noble Energy to share in its licensing deal with Cyprus, reported Globes.co.il. It is a noteworthy coincidence that on the same day, Russia signs the contract to build three new Krivak IV class frigates for the Black Sea Fleet.

Posted by Galrahn at 11:15 AM

[jhpigott]

In addition to Russia dispatching 2 nuke subs to the E. Med, there is also word they have diverted a destroyer to the area as well. Erodgan has been playing the verbal brinkmanship games with the Israelis, Greeks and Cypriots, but I bet he didn't bargain on a Russian naval prescence in his backyard when he started spouting off.

[jhpigott]

ping

[Genoa]

Russian nesting dolls: Turkey wants to envelop the Arabs, and Russia wants to envelop Turkey. Gobble gobble!

[2banana]

breakaway Turkish north.

What the world now calls a muslim invasion of of a land, occupation and ethnic cleansing of any infidels...

[cuban leaf]

I just keep thinking, “hooks in his mouth” when I read this stuff.

[GonzoGOP]

Russia has sent two nuclear-powered submarines to patrol Eastern Mediterranean waters around Cyprus and enforce the island's right to explore for undersea oil and gas in its territorial seas, according to information from Defencenet.gr, citing a Russian FM spokesman.

Start Billy Mays Voice:
Are you being threatened by local Islamists Psychopaths? Do NATO backed Islamic thugs try to claim your natural resources? Is being a slave to the Sultan not on your to-do list?

Don't get mad. Call Vlad.

And if you call right now as part of this special offer you get to join the New Soviet Empire. It is an offer you just can't say no to. But wait, that's not all. You also get to buy all your fuel from the Russians. How much would you pay for that, more than you think.

It is time to rid yourself of that effeminate democratic leadership and get a big manly dose of Russian Mafia Oppression. Call now!

[M Kehoe]

The Med could get crowded.

The things wars are made of.

5.56mm

[Stonewall Jackson]

This could be the largest naval conflict since WW2 and the largest air war since the Yom Kipur War. The Turks have 14 submarines, 17 frigates, 220 F-16's and 157 F-4's, while the Greeks have 8 subs, 14 frigates, 156 F-16's, 44 Mirage 2000's, 53, F-4's, and 36 A-7's.

Add in the Israelis (3 subs, 83 F-15's, and 325 F-16's) and possibly the Egyptians (4 subs, 9 frigates, 240 F-16's, 32 F-4's, 53 J-7's, 60 Mirage V's, 18 Mirage 2000's, and 62 MiG-21's), and things will get extremely interesting, even if the Russians and the US stay out of it.

[agere_contra]

We’re pretty sure that the US will indeed stay out of it until 20th January 2013.

So it looks like Gog and Magog have a narrow window of opportunity.

[b4its2late]

Yep.

[AU72]

And today all US citizens were urged to leave Syria ASAP.

[SunkenCiv]

Turkey warned Thursday it will declare a border on the continental shelf if the island of Cyprus proceeds with offshore oil and gas drilling activities... U.S. firm Noble Energy will soon begin exploratory drilling to confirm deposits beneath the sea bed off Cyprus' southern coast... Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a sovereign country and strongly objects to the Greek Cypriot search for mineral deposits inside the island's exclusive economic zone... Alexander Lukashevich said that Russia supports Cyprus and guarantees its security if it is threatened: "Under the UN Convention on International Law, among 162 other signatory states, including Cyprus, each state has sovereign rights in its EEZ for exploring, exploiting and protecting both live and non-living natural resources, including water, the seabed and subsoil," said Lukashevich in comments made on August 19th and reported by Defencenet.gr (in Greek).

Thanks jhpigott.

"....some damfool thing in the Balkans... or maybe the eastern Med...

[rmlew]

About half of the Turkish F-4 Phantom IIs are F4 Kurnass fighters, purchased from Israel with Israeli electronics, carrying Israeli munitions. If you were the Turkish Air Force, would you really send these against Israel or would you ground them and look for electronic kill switches? Same of the IAI Heron and Harpy.