A Turkish crew was harassed by the Greek coast guard while fishing off Turkey’s western province of Aydın, local media reported on Monday.
The fishing crew was sailing near the Kuşadası district on Sunday evening when the Greek soldiers appeared and started hitting the boat’s hull, boat owner Ali Sarıhan said.
“We had cast our nets along the border and the current pushed us a little into Greek waters. Suddenly, a Greek coast guard boat with its lights on started approaching us,” recalls Sarıhan .
The Greek soldiers were shouting and telling his crew to leave the area. They seized Sarıhan’s boat and smashed its windows.
Then they came back with water on the boat, which flooded the captain’s cabin.
“The soldiers threw stones at us. They didn’t have enough and entered Turkish waters,” Sarıhan said.
The fishermen reported the incident to the Turkish coast guard and refused to back down.
“When the Turkish coast guard arrived, they chased the Greek soldiers to the Greek border,” Sarıhan said, adding that the crew had meanwhile pulled up the nets.
Later, the Turkish guards returned to their post and resumed patrols along the naval border while maintaining strict security measures until the morning, according to the fisherman.
“Our cabin is badly damaged,” he added. The crew hopes that their aircraft will be safe from any damage.
The Greek Coast Guard harasses similarly, Turkish boats fish in the international waters of the Aegean Sea.
Ankara summoned the undersecretary of the Greek embassy and issued a diplomatic note in February last year after the Greek coast guard injured Turkish fisherman in the leg while firing warning shots at a boat in the eastern Aegean Sea.
The Greek Coast Guard is also known for similar activities and often harsher treatment of asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea.
The proximity of Turkey’s Aegean coast to the Greek islands makes it a favored destination for irregular migrants hoping to reach Europe. Some stay in Greece, but most are looking for ways to travel to other European countries, especially Germany, to lead a better life.
As the European Union grapples with an influx of irregular migrants amid heightened conflict and hardship in countries of origin, Greece often resorts to repressive practices that run counter to international laws.
Ankara and international rights groups have frequently condemned it as a violation of humanitarian values because it endangers the lives of vulnerable migrants, while Athens denies all allegations.
Accounts of migrants intercepted by Turkish authorities, whether in the Aegean Sea or across the land border between Turkey and Greece, show that Greek security forces often beat them and sometimes attempt to sink their rubber dinghies.
This is one of several long-standing issues over which Turkey and Greece have disagreed, particularly competing claims to jurisdiction over the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime borders , their airspace, their energy, the ethnically divided island of Cyprus and the status of the Aegean Islands.
The maritime border dispute led to a tense naval standoff between the two NATO members in the eastern Mediterranean in 2020 before the two sides agreed to resume direct diplomatic contacts under pressure from allied governments including Germany .
Ankara also condemns Athens for establishing a military presence on disputed Aegean islands in violation of post-war treaties, warning that continued militarization could lead Turkey to question their ownership.
The two sides have exchanged accusations over airspace violations, but there have been no skirmishes in the past three years.
Relations, however, remained frosty until this year, when both sides showed goodwill and humanitarian aid after two earthquakes that killed thousands in southeastern Turkey and a tragic train incident that shook Greece.
Turkish and Greek officials have warned against measures and statements that could harm the current trust environment. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged to maintain a positive atmosphere after holding two rare face-to-face meetings.
The two nations have once again relaunched their high-level strategic peace talks as their diplomats met in Athens earlier this month to review mutual progress in trade, economics and energy, transport, education, health and environment , as well as societal relations and new areas of cooperation.
The upcoming summit in Thessaloniki in December is expected to be a significant step forward in bilateral relations. Erdoğan will cross the Aegean Sea and meet Mitsotakis in person.
