A Turkish sailing boat was harassed by the Greek Coast Guard in the Aegean Sea during a yacht race, authorities said Tuesday.
"Yesterday (on July 25) at 8.50 a.m., an attempt was made to harass a sailing boat that participated in the ‘Navy Cup Open Sea Yacht Race,' 3.8 nautical miles southwest of Bulamaç Island (Farmakonisi) by the Greek Coast Guard," according to the Turkish Coast Guard Command.
It said the Turkish Coast Guard quickly intervened and intercepted the Greek boat.
Sailing coach and captain Murat Tan told reporters that they averted a life-threatening danger as their boat was harassed by the Greek Coast Guard vessel.
The boat was carrying nine competitors, including one woman, he said, adding: "As soon as the Turkish Coast Guard boats saw them approaching us, they quickly came to our aid."
"We don't know why. Our boat is the only flag red boat, maybe that's why it happened," he added, referring to the color of the Turkish flag.
Competitors in the boat made a video of the move by the Greek Coast Guard.
Turkey and Greece have long-standing sea and air boundary disputes that intensified with moves to explore potential undersea natural gas reserves.
The disagreement has resulted in near-daily air force patrols and interception missions, mostly in disputed airspace around Greek islands that are near Turkey’s coastline.
Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected the maritime boundary claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that these excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving all outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue and negotiation. Turkey has also criticized the European Union’s stance on the Eastern Mediterranean conflict, calling on the bloc to adopt a fair attitude regarding the dispute and abandon its preferential treatment of Greece under the pretext of European Union solidarity.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Coast Guard Command rescued a total of 122 irregular migrants Tuesday in the Aegean Sea off the country's western coast.
In two separate incidents, Turkish Coast Guard teams rescued 112 irregular migrants off the coast of Dikili, Çeşme and Foça districts in Izmir province. They had been pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces.
Later, 10 migrants were found in a rubber boat off the coast of Gökçeada island in Çanakkale province.
They were moved to the provincial migration office, said a statement by the coast guard.
Turkey has been a key transit point for migrants wanting to cross into Europe to start new lives.
Ankara and international rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum-seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law.