Turkey will deploy almost 100 ships, submarines, and fighter jets for a military exercise in the Aegean. File photo. Credit: President.az, CC BY 4.0/Wikipedia
Greece is closely monitoring developments in the Aegean as Turkey begins a large-scale military exercise starting on Tuesday. The “Mavi Vatan 25” (Blue Homeland) exercise will involve 87 ships, seven submarines, 31 aircraft, 17 helicopters, 28 UAVs, seven amphibious unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and 20,000 personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces. The area between Rhodes and Cyprus is expected to serve as the main operational zone for the Turkish fleet during the exercise, which is set to conclude on January 16 with an amphibious landing operation in the Aksaz region, directly across from Rhodes, where Turkey’s naval base is located.
Military observers in Athens note that for the first time in a major exercise of the Turkish Armed Forces, the new amphibious army corps based in Çanakkale will be activated. In total, Turkey maintains 20 landing brigades on the Asia Minor coast, and an order has been placed for the immediate construction of eight new landing ships. Hellenic Navy ships and submarines will closely observe the exercise scenarios and track the movements of Turkish vessels and aircraft.
Concerns in Greece about the timing of Turkey’s military exercise
Greece is concerned about the timing of the exercise, which was postponed in the last two years and was seen in Athens as a sign of goodwill from Ankara, in the context of the Greek-Turkish dialogue and the policy of “calm waters” in the Aegean Sea. It is also noted that it takes place weeks before Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due to visit Ankara and meet with President Erdogan in the context of the Greek-Turkish dialogue.
The “Mavi Vatan 25” exercise comes as relations between Greece and Turkey have improved significantly in 2024. This positive shift is evident through increased diplomatic engagements and cooperative initiatives. Despite both being members of NATO, Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over a long series of issues, including complex maritime boundary disputes that led them to the brink of war in 1987 and in 1996. In 2020, tension over drilling rights led to Greek and Turkish warships shadowing each other in the eastern Mediterranean.
Over the past 16 months, the two sides have made concerted efforts to reduce tensions, with the Greek and Turkish leaders meeting six times. Last December, the two countries signed more than a dozen cooperation deals during a meeting in Athens between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.