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1. Ships collide in disputed waters, China blames Philippines

2. Chinese coast guard clashes with Philippines in disputed waters

In a harrowing encounter in the disputed South China Sea, Chinese coast guard ships aggressively confronted a Philippine patrol vessel, raising fears of a larger conflict. ...

3. Philippines accuses China of dumping cyanide into disputed Scarborough Shoal

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Philippines has accused Chinese fishing vessels of utilizing cyanide to harm the Scarborough Shoal, a contested atoll in the South China Sea, according to a report in Business Insider....

4. Turkish ship carried stolen Ukrainian grain

The Turkish vessel known as the "Sword Lion" has found itself in a holding pattern at the bustling Iskenderun port, its anticipated unloading of a unique cargo - Ukrainian grain of questionable origins - temporarily postponed....

5. Kasoulides on Bloomberg: Cyprus concerned by Aegean Sea rhetoric (video)

Cyprus is wary of getting drawn into a potential conflict between Greece and Turkey as rhetoric between the countries intensifies, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said....

6. Anna Luhrmann speaks to 'K' with a view to strengthening Cypriot-German relations

German State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs, Anna Luhrmann, arrived in Cyprus on an official visit and spoke to "K" about the current developments in the eastern Mediterranean and the war in Ukraine. ...

7. Erdogan keeps suspense as he helicopters to drillship

Suspense in Nicosia and Athens were unceremoniously put on hold on Tuesday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of the country’s Abdulhamid Han drill ship in contested waters off Cyprus but was in no hurry to share coordinates...

8. Turkey will resume drilling near Cyprus next month

Turkey next month will resume drilling operations near the divided island of Cyprus, a top official said Wednesday, threatening to spark a new diplomatic row with the EU....

9. EU issues yet another damning report on Turkey

An EU enlargement report calls on Turkey to tone down actions and threats against member states including the Republic of Cyprus, while Ankara accuses the European Commission of adopting Greek and Greek Cypriot biases...

10. Turkey denies Cypriot vessel in contested waters

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was working the phones on Monday, a day after Turkey expelled a research vessel from waters west of the island, a maritime area with zones claimed by both Ankara and Nicosia...

11. Turkish warship blocks Greek research vessel

A Turkish warship issued a warning to a Greek research vessel to prevent it entering what Turkey considers its territorial waters, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The showdown came a year after tensions in the eastern Mediterranean threatened to escalate into open conflict between the neighbors and NATO allies...

12. Open season for players searching for gas

The Republic of Cyprus along with Greece and Israel have leased a research vessel to conduct seismic surveys in waters east and west of the island, at a time when chatter over gas exploration rounds in the region are coming back to the surface...

13. Greek MPs approve extension of Ionian Sea territorial waters

With 284 votes in favor and 16 “present,” lawmakers approved legislation on Wednesday to extend Greece’s territorial waters along its western coastline from six to 12 nautical miles....

14. Dherynia rioter gets suspended sentence

A local judge in Famagusta handed down a 90-day suspended sentence to a man who pleaded guilty to rioting charges in connection with an incident at Dherynia checkpoint, while eight others await trial after pleading not guilty...

15. EU to toughen sanctions on Turkish drilling, draft summit statement says

The European Union will impose sanctions on more Turkish individuals and companies responsible for drilling in contested waters in the Mediterranean, according to a draft statement prepared for EU leaders to agree at a summit on Thursday....

16. No ‘cold turkey’ route as EU ministers meet

No big steps are expected Monday as EU foreign ministers meet to evaluate possible sanctions against Turkey, laying the groundwork for a more substantive debate between EU leaders later in the week...

17. Turkish exploration vessel back in port ahead of EU summit

Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday from disputed Mediterranean waters, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara....

18. Greece and Turkey take it down a notch

Greece and Turkey have mutually cancelled military exercises on each other’s national holiday this week, as a gesture of goodwill following a special NATO-sponsored meeting between the two defense ministers...

19. NAVTEX wars continue in eastern Med

Greece has issued a counter navigational warning following NAVTEX messages from Turkey, after Ankara renewed exploratory activities in contested Mediterranean waters and further denounced Athens for treaty violations...

20. Greece, Cyprus seek more EU pressure to stop ‘provocative’ Turkey

Greece and Cyprus pushed for a tougher European Union response to Turkey’s natural gas exploration in contested Mediterranean waters at an EU summit on Friday, after Ankara restarted operations of a survey ship....

21. Nicosia in wait-and-see over Barbaros

Government officials in the Republic of Cyprus on Friday declined to comment on reports that Turkish seismic vessel Barbaros had moved away from contested waters off Cyprus, suggesting Nicosia was in a wait-and-see mode amid reports of ongoing diplomatic efforts at the European level between Greece and Turkey...

22. Ankara accuses Athens of beating the war drum

Turkey says the European Union is not sincere in its efforts to weigh in on the maritime disputes in the eastern Mediterranean, while accusing Athens of beating the war drum by intending to expand Greek territorial waters...

23. EU set to sanction Turkey over ships in disputed East Med exploration area

The European Union is preparing sanctions against Turkey that could be discussed at the bloc's next summit on September 24 in response to the Eastern Mediterranean dispute with Greece, the EU’s top diplomat said on Friday. ...

24. Ankara responds to Greek warnings

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says an attack on Oruc Reis in the eastern Mediterranean would incur a “high price” while at the same time calling for a win-win solution through dialogue...

25. Turkey says it wants to resolve dispute with Greece through dialogue

Turkey’s Energy Minister Fatih Donmez tweeted Wednesday that Turkey plans to lay two cables, totaling 1,750 km in length, for seismic research for energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea by August 23....

26. Dendias to meet Pompeo in Vienna

Athens says it will not accept a fait accompli in the Eastern Mediterranean, with reports saying Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is set to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vien on Friday....

27. Turkey says Greece making a ‘big fuss’

Ankara has accused Athens of having “no legal basis” for raising objections over Turkish exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, as Greek armed forces were placed on high alert Monday after Turkey sent a seismic survey vessel in contested waters...

28. NAVTEX warnings muddy the waters off Cyprus

Rival navigational warnings and conflicting information about naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean dominated headlines over the weekend, with Germany appearing to be behind a last-ditch effort to buy time and de-escalate tensions between Greece and Turkey...

29. EU bans two Turks over drilling off Cyprus

The European Union has imposed sanctions on two Turkish nationals in connection with their company’s drilling activities off Cyprus...

30. Nicosia to press on with energy plans

Republic of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades says Nicosia’s energy plans are moving forward while criticizing Ankara for seeking preconditions for dialogue...