Greece has been expanding its armament program and plans to further step up the military presence on the island of Crete and upgrade its arsenal, a report said Thursday amid increasing tensions with Turkey.
Athens will allocate €190 million (approximately $200 million) to upgrade and expand a naval base at Souda Bay, the daily Kathimerini reported.
Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos informed the Parliamentary Committee on Defense Affairs about the additional allocation for the naval base, the report said.
According to the daily, the eventual plan is to transform Souda into a "permanent base" for the Greek navy, allowing for "faster and more direct access to the Eastern Mediterranean."
It said €900 million are expected to be doled out for the modernization of RM-70 multiple rocket launchers, while "a similar budget will be used for the upgrade of the 122mm rocket launchers."
Another €160 million will go toward the maintenance of the navy's S-70 Aegean Hawk helicopters, along with €150 million to be spent on procuring 30,000 120mm ammunition rounds for the army's German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
The committee has also approved €20 million for new Hellfire missiles for U.S.-made Apache helicopters equipped with laser guidance systems, the report added
In March, Greece signed deals to buy three Belharra navy frigates and six additional Rafale fighter jets from France to boost its armed forces in response to tension with neighbouring Turkey.
The Rafale fighter jets will be sold to Greece by Dassault Aviation and would be delivered from the summer of 2024, bringing the Hellenic Air Force's fleet to 24 Rafales, the French warplane maker said in a statement.
Last September Athens agreed to buy three frigates with an option for a fourth one for about 3.0 billion euros ($3.30 billion).
NATO members Greece and Turkey remain at odds over maritime boundaries and mineral exploitation rights in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. A Turkish oil and gas survey in 2020 resulted in a tense naval standoff between the two countries.
Both countries also disagree on the status of the islands in the Aegean.
Turkey is demanding that Greece demilitarize its eastern islands, citing the 20th-century treaties that ceded sovereignty of the islands to Greece.
The Greek government calls the demand a deliberate misinterpretation and has accused Turkey, a fellow NATO member, of stepping up hostile actions in the area.
Starting from the Treaty of London in 1913, the militarization of the eastern Aegean islands was restricted and their demilitarized status was confirmed with the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The Lausanne pact established a political balance between the two countries by harmonizing vital interests, including those in the Aegean.
The 1947 Treaty of Paris, which ceded the Dodecanese islands from Italy to Greece, also confirmed their demilitarized status.
However, Greece argues that the 1936 Montreux Convention on Turkish Straits should be applied in this case, while Ankara says Greece's obligation to disarm the islands remains unchanged under the Montreux Convention, highlighting that there is no provision that differentiates it from the Treaty of Lausanne on the issue.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara favors resolving outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue and negotiations. Instead of opting to solve problems with Ankara through dialogue, Athens has, on several occasions, refused to sit at the negotiation table and opted to rally Brussels to take a tougher stance against Turkey.
