Turkey launched its largest annual naval exercise Sunday, deploying 100 ships, 50 aircraft, and 14,000 troops across the...

Turkey launched its largest annual naval exercise Sunday, deploying 100 ships, 50 aircraft, and 14,000 troops across the Aegean, Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, and Eastern Mediterranean. The drill, officially named Denizkurdu-I/2026 and known as "Sea Wolf," runs until September 25 and involves live-fire scenarios alongside the Turkish Navy, Air Force, Land Forces, and Coast Guard. The exercise is a planned event, not a sudden mobilization, but its timing carries clear political weight. Just hours before it launched, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that if Greece makes any moves Ankara considers "adventurous," the strength of the Turkish state is "known to everyone." He also repeated Turkey's long-standing demand that several Eastern Aegean islands be demilitarized, calling the Greek military presence on them a "threat" and accusing Athens of violating international treaties. The flare-up follows Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's visit on September 12 and 13 to Kastellorizo, Ro, and Strongyli, where he toured military posts and appeared aboard a Greek Navy patrol ship. Greece's Foreign Ministry fired back on September 16, stating that Turkey's demilitarization demands "have no legal basis in international law" and that Greece has the right to defend its own territory. Mitsotakis struck a measured but firm tone on September 17, saying Greece does not seek a "competition of declarations" but will not accept threats from anyone. Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis added on September 19 that the only dispute Greece recognizes as subject to international jurisdiction is the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone. Looming over all of this is Turkey's standing casus belli resolution, under which the Turkish parliament has declared that any Greek expansion of territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean would constitute grounds for the use of force. Turkey ran an even larger version of this same exercise in June, Denizkurdu-II, with 125 ships and 60 aircraft. #GreeceVsTurkey #Aegean #SeaWolf