Two military vessels collide as Turkish Coast Guard intercepts Greek frigate Nikiforos violating Turkish territorial waters in the Aegeanhttps://t.co/ZwZAJysS9h pic.twitter.com/BjjR4DHR41
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) January 18, 2018
Turkish and Greek military vessels collided in the Aegean Sea on Wednesday after a tense encounter.
The Turkish Coast Guard took action after seeing a Greek boat named Nikiforos approaching Turkish territorial waters near the Kardak islets.
The two vessels made a short-lived contact after Nikiforos continued to violate Turkish territorial waters despite a warning from the Turkish side.
Following the tension, the two boats collided while the Greek attempted a dangerous maneuver. No material damage was done to neither of the vessels.
The Kardak islets are a pair of two small uninhabited islets, situated between the Greek island chain of the Dodecanese and the southwestern mainland coast of Turkey.
The area has been tense since late 2015 as Turkish and Greek coast guard and navy vessels frequently confront each other in the waters near Kardak, which are also known as Imia in Greek and claimed by both countries.
A military crisis between Turkey and Greece was triggered when a Turkish vessel shipwrecked on the islets on Dec. 25, 1995. Greece claimed that the accident took place on its territorial waters, which was denied by Turkey, who claimed that the aforementioned islets belong to Turkey. The Greek military sent a soldier to plant the Greek flag on an islet in the east, resulting in the deployment of troops from both countries around the islets.
Turkey's only female prime minister, Tansu Çiller stated at the time that Turkey was ready for a military operation and sent troops to the western islet to plant the Turkish flag, famously saying "The Greek flag will be removed and Greek soldiers will be sent away."
Tensions were defused when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, American delegates and the NATO Undersecretary spoke with both sides and the situation reverted to normal.
