A job for Joe Biden: A Turkish-Greek boundary deal
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 20, 2008 00:00
We have a nominee for an early bit of Turkish business for the incoming administration of Barack Obama and his No. 2, the world-savvy Joseph Biden.
No, not Biden’s old screwball idea to divide Iraq into conveniently-sized ethnic "statelets." And no, not that hardy perennial, the "genocide resolution" that could only derail the new thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations. Biden should move on the "Law of the Sea," a rather weighty set of rules to set maritime boundaries produced by the United Nations nearly 40 years ago and yet to be ratified by either the United States or Turkey.
Maritime rules are complex. They are particularly complex when the issue is an archipelago such as the sets of islands governed by the Philippines, Indonesia or Greece. Just where the boundary is -- or should be -- is an issue that has brought Turkey and Greece close to war repeatedly. Thankfully, cool heads have prevailed in recent years and we are sure this will continue.
But a Norwegian ship prospecting for oil under Turkish contract near the Greek island of Meis has, in recent days, again triggered angry diplomatic missives between the two countries. Let us be clear about what is involved. Meis is a pleasant little island. A good swimmer can get there from the Turkish town of Kaş in about 45 minutes. By boat it takes five. The islanders and Kaş townsfolk all know one another. The lack of a customs facility, for example, does not prevent most of the island’s 200-odd souls from making their way every Thursday to the open air market in Kaş. Technically it is illegal but nobody seems to mind. For the people of Meis and Kaş have been trading for centuries.
It is long past time that Turkey and Greece hammer out reasonable rules. The best forum for this would be the arbitration mechanism of the United Nations as outlined in the Law of the Sea. It has worked in recent years for Barbados and Trinidad as it has for Suriname and Guyana. Except Turkey does not recognize the authority of this body. And why should Turkey, when the nation with the world’s seventh longest coastline still shuns the deal?
This is where Biden comes in. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden last year promised he would move this document through his committee and finally get it ratified by the full Senate. An election campaign got in the way. But now, he is soon to be vice president, a job he was tapped for because of international expertise. This is an even better post to finally wrap up this bit of unfinished business. While at it, Biden could also demonstrate the Obama Administration’s leadership in our part of the world and help resolve one of the last remaining antagonisms between Greece and Turkey.
Maritime rules are complex. They are particularly complex when the issue is an archipelago such as the sets of islands governed by the Philippines, Indonesia or Greece. Just where the boundary is -- or should be -- is an issue that has brought Turkey and Greece close to war repeatedly. Thankfully, cool heads have prevailed in recent years and we are sure this will continue.
But a Norwegian ship prospecting for oil under Turkish contract near the Greek island of Meis has, in recent days, again triggered angry diplomatic missives between the two countries. Let us be clear about what is involved. Meis is a pleasant little island. A good swimmer can get there from the Turkish town of Kaş in about 45 minutes. By boat it takes five. The islanders and Kaş townsfolk all know one another. The lack of a customs facility, for example, does not prevent most of the island’s 200-odd souls from making their way every Thursday to the open air market in Kaş. Technically it is illegal but nobody seems to mind. For the people of Meis and Kaş have been trading for centuries.
It is long past time that Turkey and Greece hammer out reasonable rules. The best forum for this would be the arbitration mechanism of the United Nations as outlined in the Law of the Sea. It has worked in recent years for Barbados and Trinidad as it has for Suriname and Guyana. Except Turkey does not recognize the authority of this body. And why should Turkey, when the nation with the world’s seventh longest coastline still shuns the deal?
This is where Biden comes in. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden last year promised he would move this document through his committee and finally get it ratified by the full Senate. An election campaign got in the way. But now, he is soon to be vice president, a job he was tapped for because of international expertise. This is an even better post to finally wrap up this bit of unfinished business. While at it, Biden could also demonstrate the Obama Administration’s leadership in our part of the world and help resolve one of the last remaining antagonisms between Greece and Turkey.