{"id":11479,"date":"2022-11-15T06:33:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T06:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/2022\/11\/ag\/"},"modified":"2024-11-20T22:04:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T19:04:14","slug":"the-importance-of-the-meis-island-in-the-greco-turkish-conflict-on-the-aegean-sea-altug-gunal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/2022\/11\/the-importance-of-the-meis-island-in-the-greco-turkish-conflict-on-the-aegean-sea-altug-gunal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of the Meis Island in the Greco-Turkish Conflict on the Aegean Sea – Altu\u011f G\u00fcnal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Militarization of the islands by Greece, which should be demilitarized according to their established status, is one of the most important disputes between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea. Among these islands, Meis is particularly important, being the farthest from Greek mainland and closest to mainland Turkey. In addition to militarization, Meis also causes serious maritime jurisdictional debates due to its location. I here provide a short summary of the main arguments set forth by the two sides, Greece and Turkey, to clarify the disagreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basic Information on Meis<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although its official\nname, Megisti (\u039c\u03b5\u03b3\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7), means largest-greatest in Greek, Meis is rather a small\nisland of only 9.2 km2<\/sup> with approximately 500 residents. It is a\nmunicipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean and a regional unit\nof Rhodes. Its current name, which has been used since the 12th century, is\nKastellorizo. The name probably comes from Castello and Rosso, which togather mean\nred castle in Italian. The Turkish names of the island are Meis and K\u0131z\u0131lhisar\n<\/em>(letter also means Red Castle in Turkish).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meis\nIsland was significant in terms of maritime navigation and trade during and\nbefore the Ottoman period. It later lost its importance to a large extent. Since\nwater is scarce on the Island and agricultural opportunities are therefore\nlimited, sponge diving and tourism are of vital economic importance today. It\nbecame a more popular tourism destination after Mediterraneo, a 1991 Italian\nwar comedy-drama film shot in Meis, about a group of Italian soldiers stranded\non a Greek island during the Second World War, received an Oscar. With the\nconstruction of an airport and the launch of ferry services from Rhodes, arrival\nto the island has become easier. There is sea crossing to Meis from Ka\u015f (Turkey)\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relations between\nthe Greek islanders and the Turks are fine. The two sides often go shopping or\nvacation to each other. There are even marriages. When the islanders get sick,\nthey mostly prefer Turkey instead of Rhodes for treatment. The island is only 2\nkilometers away from Turkey, so an average athlete can swim easily. As a matter\nof fact, swimming competitions are organized between Ka\u015f and Meis every year,\nwhere the two municipalities give the start together. Small boats can also\nreach the island in about 20 minutes. However, the close location of the mini-island\nto Turkey is also the main reason for the tensions with Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Main Maritime Jurisdictional Conflict on Meis\nIsland<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the two main disagreements\non Meis is related to maritime jurisdiction. Greece argues that all island,\nwhether small or sizable, have maritime jurisdiction on equal footing with mainlands.\nBy asserting that the island of Meis has continental shelf and EEZ area just like\nthe Greek mainland, Greece wants to combine the continental shelf and EEZ areas\nof the island of Rhodes, which is 78 miles away to Meis, with those of Meis embracing\nthe entire area in between. In such a possibility, Turkey’s EEZ area in the\nMediterranean would be restricted to the Gulf of Antalya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey, on the other\nhand, purports that the maritime jurisdictional areas of the islands cannot be\nthe same as mainlands. It therefore refuses to accept the Greece\u2019s claim to an\narea of approximately 40.000 km2 <\/sup>in the Eastern Mediterranean for an\nisland of just 10 km2<\/sup> in size with mere 500 inhabitants and located\nat a distance of 600 km from the Greek mainland and only 2 km from Turkey\u2019s\nmainland. Since Greece claims a maritime jurisdiction area which is 4,000 times\nthe area of that island, Turkey firmly rejects such a disproportionate demand,\nwhich would cause her to lose a huge area in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the\ncontrary, Turkey claims a maritime jurisdictional area that extends from the\nTurkish mainland to the island of Cyprus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Legal Discussion on the Militarization of Meis <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second disagreement on Meis is related to its militarization\nby Greece. Meis, a part of the Dodecanese in the\nEastern Aegean region, was ceded to Italy by the Treaty of Ushi, signed after\nthe Tripoli War of 1912. The Island was ceded to Greece\u201d with the 1947 Paris\nPeace Treaty signed between Italy and the Allies after World War II. Article 14\nof the Paris Peace Treaty clearly states that all the fourteen ceded islands\nincluding Meis \u201cmust be demilitarized and\nshould remain so<\/em>\u201d. Turkey’s objection to any militarization act on the\nIsland is depended on such a clearly expressed provision of the Paris Peace\nTreaty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece began arming the Eastern Aegean islands in\n1960s. This has a direct connection with the tension that arose from Cyprus at\nthe time. Facing Turkey’s reactions, Greece initially denied militarization but\nthen began to argue that it had justified reasons. Looking specifically at\nMeis, although the issue has caused problems with ups and downs over the years,\ntensions rose recently when the images of a civilian ferry departing from\nRhodes carrying fully equipped Greek soldiers to Meis in August 2020 were reflected\nto the media. After Turkey’s very harsh reaction, the Greek Ministry of Defense\nannounced that the island of Meis was not armed, and the soldiers who came from\nRhodes routinely changed the guard of the island. Besides that, frequent visits\nof the top Greek officialsincluding the President to the island, and the\nemergence of highly militarized images during these visits covering also the inspection\nof military units, are perceived as serious provocations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece\nacknowledges that Paris Peace Treaty envisages the disarmament of the related islands.\nHowever, it claims that the contingent in Meis consists of a National Guard\npresence in accordance with the treaty on the Conventional Armed Forces in\nEurope (CFE). It also argues that Turkey, which is not a party to the Paris\nAgreement, cannot raise obligations or carry liabilities according to Article\n34 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties as non-party state. In other\nwords, Greece argues that Turkey cannot interfere with the implementation of an\nagreement to which it is not a party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides these, Greece also claims\nthat Turkey occupied Cyprus in violation of the Treaty of Guarantee in 1974 and\nshowed the potential to apply the same to the Greek islands. Establishment of\nthe Aegean Army in the Aegean part of Turkey\u2019s mainland, which is capable of landing\noperations, is seen as another sign of threats to Greek islands. Even the\noccasional statements by the Turkish officials such as \u201cwe can come suddenly\none night\u201d and the popular social media maps showing the Greek islands as\nTurkish territory are all presented as similar signs by Greece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, Greece argues that, in\naccordance with Article 51 of the UN charter, it has the right to take the\nnecessary military measures to defend her territory against the explicit Turkish\nthreats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nthe contrary, Turkey claims it has no intention to threaten any neighboring\nstate and instead sees the arming of the so closely located islands by a\npotentially foe state as a major security threat. In fact, the most important\nreason why these islands were given a demilitarized status from the beginning\nwas to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Turkey argues that these islands were\nceded to Greece on the condition that they would be kept demilitarized, and\ntherefore Greece\u2019s sovereignty would become controversial if it did not stop\nthis \u201cmaterial breach\u201d of the related conventions. The rhetoric \u201cwe can come suddenly one night<\/em>\u201d, which\nwas used in Cyprus and Syria before, has become popular again. In his speech,\nMinister of Defense Akar reminded that Meis was only 1950 km away, and the\nswimming standard of a Turkish Naval Academy student was 2000 meters. As a\nmatter of fact, the swimming of military students to Tuzla Island recently,\nwhich is the same distance as Meis, was a warning message to Greece. Of course,\nthese movements were also described as a provocation by Greece and were\nanswered with similar arguments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion and Evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite\nits huge maritime jurisdictional effect and strategic location, Meis is just a\nvery small part of the greater Aegean problems between Greece and Turkey. By\npursuing above mentioned policies, Greece may be aiming to consolidate its full\nsovereignty over the disputed islands, to accustom Turkey to it, and at the\nsame time, provoke Turkey to react violently leading to isolation from the West.\nDue to the large number of heavy weapons and bases deployed by the United\nStates recently, the concern in Greece that Turkey might make a military\nintervention or landing operation tends to decrease. Therefore, armament\nattempts can become more overt than before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\narmed conflict between Turkey and Greece would be a disaster not only for both sides\nbut also for the whole region. Turkey should use its recent diplomatic capacity\nstrengthened by the mediation efforts at the Russo-Ukraine war, to convince\nGreece to sit on the negotiation table for all the problems in Aegean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However\nthis is not an easy task as Greece defends that many of the Aegean issues are\nnot \u201cdisputes\u201d at all, instead they are just illegal claims by Turkey. Greek\nofficials believe, accepting to negotiate those issues would also mean opening\nGreece\u2019s sovereignty to discussion. The explicit military and political support\nof the United States in recent years has further heartened Greece\u2019s well known\nstance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in terms of military capacity, Turkey also feels much stronger than before. Since even a small dispute between Turkey and Greece can quickly turn into a national cause on both sides, governments are constantly under great pressure and any step which may sound like a retreat or defeat can even cost them their positions. Therefore, it is unlikely that governments will try different and risky methods for a solution. As long as the Russia-Ukraine war does not lead to an unexpected development, there seems to be no hope that either the problem of Meis or the other Aegean Issues will be resolved in the short term. Turkey\u2019s EU membership would soften the tension for sure, however even that would not guarantee a solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Altu\u011f G\u00fcnal<\/strong>, Ege University<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Altu\u011f G\u00fcnal; received his BA and MA in International Relations from Ege University and his PhD in European Studies from Dokuz Eyl\u00fcl University (2011). He completed part of his Ph.D. lectures and doctoral dissertation at the University of Exeter and the University of Zagreb. He has also worked as a researcher or guest scholar at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Aalborg University, University of Zagreb and University of Oxford. He taught Turkey\u2019s internal and international interests at the Turkish Air Force Command and is still history consultant for the Cyprus Peace Operation Museum at the Fo\u00e7a Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade. Currently, he is working as a lecturer and vice head of department at the International Relations Department of Ege University. His priority work and writing issues covers; Cyprus Problem, the Balkans, Humanitarian Interventions, Responsibility to Protect and the European Union. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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To cite this work :<\/strong> Altu\u011f G\u00fcnal, \u201cThe Importance of the Meis Island in the Greco-Turkish Conflict on the Aegean Sea” , Panorama<\/em>, Online , 15 November 2022, https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/blog\/2022\/11\/15\/ag\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Copyright@UIKPanorama. All on-line and print rights reserved. Opinions expressed in works published by the Panorama<\/em> belongs to the authors alone unless otherwise stated, and do not imply endorsement by the IRCT, Global Academy, or the Editors\/Editorial Board of Panorama. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Militarization of the islands by Greece, which should be demilitarized according to their established status, is one of the most important disputes between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea. Among these islands, Meis is particularly important, being the farthest from Greek mainland and closest to mainland Turkey. In addition to militarization, Meis also causes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":9683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[504,486,508],"tags":[539,656,636,612,650],"class_list":["post-11479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-opinion","category-turkey","tag-aegean-sea","tag-english","tag-greece","tag-security-strategy-geopolitics","tag-turkiye"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}