The Aegean Sea Maritime Delimitation Dispute

Abstract

This Chapter, part of the book 'Maritime Disputes and International Law', offers a brief but comprehensive analysis of the maritime delimitation dispute between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea. The first part examines the geographical characteristics of the Aegean Sea and how its unusual geographical configuration renders maritime boundary delimitation on this occasion particularly complicated. The second part assesses the claimants’ respective legal positions on the issue. In presenting the claimants’ respective positions, special attention is paid to the effect of islands in maritime boundary delimitation which arguably forms the core aspect of this dispute. The third part discusses the seabed resource potentials of the Aegean and highlights the adverse impact of the ongoing dispute on the commercial exploitation of the area’s seabed resources. It argues that the suspected presence of potentially significant petroleum deposits, both conventional and unconventional, in the area offers an economic rationale for Greece and Turkey either to delimit their maritime boundaries or to focus their attention on alternative cooperative and practical solutions aiming at the economic exploitation of the area, pending boundary delimitation.