The north is set to devise a maritime spatial planning map of its own, its ‘foreign ministry’s’ undersecretary Mustafa Lakadamyali confirmed on Tuesday.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, he said work on a maritime spatial plan has “been underway for a while”, though said no date has yet been set for when the plan will be completed.

The news comes weeks after Greece’s submission of its own maritime spatial plan to the European Commission had made political waves in Turkey, which insisted that parts of the sea claimed as Greek in the plan actually belongs to Turkey.

Greece unveiled its map following a meeting of the country’s National Security Council (Kysea), with the country’s Defence Minister Nikos Dendias outlining the map’s purpose.

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“For the first time, this country is setting the rules for the organisation of its maritime space. Maps now reflect the use, but also the activities which can be developed in the marine zones, the development of tourism, the protection of the environment and cultural heritage, transport and the exploitation of energy resources,” he said.

The matter of the map is one which has strained relations between Greece and Turkey, though the Greek government was, according to news website Protothema, insistent that the map should not have come as a surprise to Turkey, given the fact that the country had been ordered to draft a maritime spatial plan by the European Court of Justice in February.

Nonetheless, Turkey’s foreign ministry did issue a response to the map shortly after its publication, saying that “some of the areas in the maritime spatial planning declared by Greece in accordance with European Union legislation violate our country’s maritime jurisdiction areas in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean”.

Meanwhile, the country’s Ankara University released its own maritime spatial planning map, outlining its claims in the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean in line with the country’s “blue homeland” doctrine.

The Republic of Cyprus submitted its own maritime spatial plan in 2021.

The confirmation of plans for the north to create its own maritime spatial plan come after the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (Tpao)’s research and development centre department head Muhammet Fatih Ayyildiz confirmed his country’s intention to start drilling for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus “in the near future”.

“Our activities abroad continue under the leadership of our ministry in accordance with our energy policies. We are planning to start activities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and off the coast of Libya in the near future, God willing,” he said.

That announcement came after the country’s ruling AK Party faced intense criticism from opposition MPs earlier in the year after merican multinational corporation ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy began drilling in Block 5 of the Republic of Cyprus’ claimed exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The AK Party’s Leyla Sahin Usta explained that according to maritime claims recognised by the Turkish government, Block 5 belongs to Egypt and not Turkey, and that thus it is not Turkey’s place to protest against or attempt to stop ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy’s operations.

“According to our Blue Homeland map, this is within Egypt’s continental shelf,” she said.

However, opposition MPs were less than convinced, with Iyi Party deputy leader Turhan Comez among the many to register his distaste.

“The area being drilled belongs to Turkey. Where are our boats? Why can we not see the ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine on the ground? Tell the truth to parliament and to the public. The Greek Cypriots are drilling in the TRNC’s territorial waters and we are just sat here watching,” he said.