Turkey has established two national marine parks in the Aegean Sea through presidential decrees issued on Aug. 15 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and published in the Official Gazette the following day, escalating tensions with Greece over maritime boundaries.
The larger park spans roughly 21,700 square kilometres off the southern coast between Fethiye and Kaş, southeast of Rhodes, while a second zone of about 1,742 square kilometres lies in the northern Aegean near the Dardanelles and Gökçeada island. Turkish media linked the move to reported Greek plans for new protected areas near the Dodecanese.
Greece's foreign ministry condemned the declarations as illegal, saying they fall within Greek continental shelf and international waters and produce no legal effect. Ankara is also expected to debate a "Blue Homeland" bill in parliament in October. Turkish drones and aircraft have entered Greek airspace 433 times this year, up from 255 in 2025.