Under the title "The Blue Homeland 2021," the Turkish army launched its naval maneuvers today, Thursday, in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea, coinciding with the escalation of tension with Greece due to survey activities carried out by Ankara in the northern Aegean.

These exercises are of great importance as they are taking place in a fiery maritime environment, in light of the border dispute with Athens and the dispute over gas and islands between the two countries.

In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it would conduct its maneuvers planned by the Naval Forces Command, starting from today until March 7, indicating that the exercises aim to assess the readiness of units and ships of the Naval Forces Command and to develop capabilities for maritime operations.

87 warships, 27 aircraft and 20 helicopters are participating in the exercises from various naval, air and ground forces, including attack helicopters belonging to the Ground Forces Command and F-16 fighters of the Air Force.

The ground, air and gendarmerie forces will also participate, in addition to dozens of ships, helicopters and aircraft of the Turkish Coast Guard.

During the exercises, live ammunition will be used, and sea and air strikes by unmanned high-speed vehicles will be carried out as targets, in order to create a real war environment.

Greek molestation

This came at a time when the Turkish Ministry of Defense said that its forces had responded to the harassment of 4 Greek F-16 fighters with a Turkish ship conducting research in international waters in the north of the Aegean Sea.

The Greek fighters approached the Turkish "Cesme" ship at a distance of two nautical miles, and then fired thermal balloons before moving away from the ship's location.

The ship "Chishmeh" continues its duties in international waters north of the Aegean Sea, from February 18 to March 2 next, within the framework of its annual program of scientific and technical research in the hydrographic field.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that the Greek fighters harassed the ship from a height of a thousand meters, and that the Greek fighter jets were responded to, without revealing the nature of the response.

The harassment of the Turkish ship by Greek fighters comes after Turkish military sources announced that Athens has practiced many activities to escalate tension in the Aegean Sea, ranging from maneuvers to submarine missions, since the launch of "exploratory talks" with Turkey on January 25.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, "Our position is clear regarding the harassment of the Turkish research ship by Greek fighters, and what we will do about these harassments is also clear within the framework of the law."

Greece protested last week against Turkey's deployment of the research vessel "Cesme", in what it described as an unnecessary move.

Athens said that although the ship was operating in international waters, the responsibility for issuing maritime warnings in that part of the Aegean lies with Greece.

"F-16" fighter of the Turkish Air Force (Anatolia)

A message to Athens and a test of new weapons

In the context, retired Turkish General Ismail Hakki stated, "Our army aims to protect the interests of the republic and its naval gains, and through the current maneuvers we announce our readiness and determination to protect them and carry the slogan: strong in our blue homeland .. safe in our homeland."

General Hakki told Al-Jazeera Net that Greece always talks about projects to explore for gas and oil in the Mediterranean, and Turkey warns and confirms that it will respond strongly to any agreement that goes beyond it, and therefore the training is an important message in this regard.

He pointed out that the maneuvers constitute an opportunity to test the domestically produced weapons that have entered service recently and to ensure their readiness, especially as Turkey is engaged in the maritime defense industry, and in the recent period it has made a big leap in the issue of manufacturing its own weapons.

In its display of force at the borders of its territorial waters, Turkey preferred to focus on the use of weapons and home-made defense and offensive systems, which was read by many of Ankara's desire to confirm the great strides it has made in the field of military industrialization, as it manufactures more than 70% of its military needs.

The Presidency of the Turkish Defense Industries, "SSB", announced yesterday the delivery of two homemade "Phoenix" drones to the Naval Forces Command.

She emphasized that the two Phoenix planes, produced by the Turkish Aerospace and Aviation Industries Company, "Tusas", would contribute to strengthening the naval forces in defense of the "blue homeland", adding, "We are increasing the eyes of our security forces in the skies."

The Blue Home Theory

According to the retired Turkish Admiral Jim Jordanes, who invented the theory, the theory of the blue nation states that Turkish sovereignty will be extended over vast areas of the eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Seas, and this theory still dominates the Turkish naval doctrine.

Gordenes considered that the Turkish navy is the first in the eastern Mediterranean, so Turkey should be more ambitious.

He told Agence France-Presse earlier, that "the Mediterranean is only 1% of the oceans and seas in the world. Turkey should go further than this percentage ... Turkey should have a presence in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, as a symbol of growing influence." .