Turkish naval ships visited Syria’s Latakia port, according to Turkish government media. The visit is the first by a Turkish naval vessel to Latakia since the beginning of Syria’s civil war, Anadolu said.
This is important for Turkey. It comes on the heels of Turkey hosting a major NATO summit. Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa attended the summit.
Turkey is a close ally of the new government in Damascus. This has concerned Israel because Jerusalem sees Turkey as a rising threat in the region. Because of this, the naval visit could have wider ramifications. Turkey is a major naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In the last decade, Turkey has also increased its naval role. It has used the navy to push claims to what it calls a “Blue Homeland,” essentially a large Turkish sphere of influence stretching far beyond Turkey’s borders, across the Greek islands to the center of the Mediterranean.
The visit of the Turkish vessels is symbolic in other ways. It shows how Ankara will support Syria at sea. Israel carried out strikes on Syria’s navy when the Assad regime fell. The goal of Jerusalem was to deny the new government an air force and navy.
Israel strikes Syrian navy
Now that Syria has support from the US and many NATO countries, it is likely that Syria will want to revive its navy. This is also important for Syria because of its offshore economic zone. Syria wants to develop energy blocks off the coast in deals with Western and other energy companies. This could mean that Chevron, Qatari companies, and other companies may jump at opportunities. Reuters recently said that Total was exploring an offshore contract.
The Anadolu report on the Turkish naval vessels’ visit to Latakia Port said that Turkish Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ercument Tatlioglu was aboard the TCG Istanbul.
Photos showed the Turkish and Syrian officers meeting. Turkey’s Daily Sabah noted that “Latakia, where the frigate anchored at, also carries significance for Turkey as a major hub in the Eastern Mediterranean where Turkish interests are abundant.
Turkey has been vigilant against Israel-Greek Cypriot cooperation in the region and seeks to defend the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the divided island, especially in terms of maritime borders, where Greek Cypriots seek to exploit hydrocarbon resources unilaterally.”
The Eastern Mediterranean is increasingly important. Turkey signed a deal with Libya back in 2019 that appeared to bolster Ankara’s claims to a swath of sea between Turkey and Libya. This would appear to conflict with Greece’s claims. Turkey also used various navigational warnings to harass Greece back in 2020.
In recent years, Turkey has ratcheted down this harassment, but it is still clear that Ankara wants to show off its strength in the region.
Israel looking to expand naval capabilities
Israel has bolstered its navy in the last decade as well. The new Sa’ar 6 corvettes began to enter service in 2020. Israel has increasingly partnered with the Greek and Cypriot militaries in various exercises. There is an increased desire in Jerusalem for the need to expand Israel’s naval capabilities.
For instance, Israel Hayom wrote on June 10 that “the Hellenic Navy teaches Israel one hard lesson: how to read Turkish pressure through islands, straits, air-sea seams, and escalation thresholds. Israeli-Greek-Cypriot cooperation already follows that logic. Not all of it is public. It should not be.”
The US and Israel are also cooperating closely. This includes close work with US Central Command. In addition, the Israeli navy sent a delegation recently to the US to mark 250 years of US Independence.
“The delegation held meetings with the chief of naval operations of the US Navy, the secretary of the Navy, senior US Navy officials, and senior officials from navies of various countries, to build and advance operational dialogue, deepen professional discussions, and further strengthen the ongoing partnerships between the navies,” the IDF noted.