Turkish naval ships made a visit to Syria’s Latakia port on Monday, according to Turkish government media, the first since the beginning of Syria’s civil war.
The visit comes on the heels of Turkey hosting a major NATO summit, which Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa attended.
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 and has further increased its naval role in the last decade. 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 strikes Syrian navy
Israel carried out strikes on Syria’s navy when the Assad regime fell. The goal by Jerusalem was to deny the new government an air force and navy. Now that Syria has support from the US, and also many NATO countries, it is likely Syria will want to revive its navy.
This is also important for Syria because of its offshore economic zone. Syria wants to develop offshore energy blocks 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.
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 in 2019 that appeared to bolster Ankara’s claims to a maritime area between Turkey and Libya, potentially conflicting 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, and Israel has increasingly partnered with the Greek and Cypriot militaries in various exercises.
There is increased desire in Jerusalem 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, in order to build and advance operational dialogue, deepen professional discussions, and further strengthen the ongoing partnerships between the navies,” the Israel Defense Forces noted.