Aegean islands as bone of contention between Greece and Turkey

Greek frigates patrol in the Aegean

Ordinarily, Greece and Turkey are NATO allies. However, that is where it ends as both countries are always at loggerheads over the Aegean islands which each has access to.

It is hardly surprising that the number of incidents in the Aegean has soared as the rivals spar around the islets.  In recent times, Turkish and Greek naval vessels have fired on each other twice in the waters around Kardak.  Although the Kardak islets appear to offer the fewest rewards in the Aegean, yet they are the most contested of all in this narrow, cluttered expanse of water between northwestern Turkey and the eastern Greek mainland.

Often, low-flying fighter jets roar by while frigates make threatening circles around the coastline.

According to the Greek press, only last month, a Greek fighter jet crashed into the sea killing the pilot, after having been involved in a mock dog-fight with a Turkish plane.

Just last week a Turkish cargo ship collided with a Greek warship in an incident which Athens claimed was a deliberate ramming.




Will these skirmishes ever end? Time will tell.