Athens: Turkey, which is facing enmity with Israel, has been given a strong blow by its biggest enemy Greece. With this, a new strategic competition has started in the Mediterranean region. While on one hand the tension between Israel and Turkey in Syria has reached its peak, on the other hand Greece has announced the biggest change in its military history. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced in Parliament that his country has decided to spend 25 billion euros or about 27 billion US dollars in the defense sector in the next 12 years. This defense investment has been named 'Achilles Shield', which aims to build a state-of-the-art air defense system.
At the same time, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has told the country's Parliament that Greece is planning to move away from traditional defense systems and move towards a high-technology, network strategy focused on mobile, artificial intelligence-operated missile systems, drone technology and advanced command units.
Greece's strategy to counter Turkey
The Greek Prime Minister has said that "the world is now facing a kind of war for which traditional armies were not prepared. We are now moving towards a different kind of war." He said that "We are now changing our thinking that the Aegean Sea will have to be protected not only with the fleet, but also with technical networks." Greece had drastically cut its defense expenditure after the economic crisis of 2010 and continued to cut defense expenditure till 2018. But now it has announced a huge increase in defense expenditure. Greece is one of the few NATO members, along with Poland, Estonia and Latvia, that already spend more than 3% of their GDP on defense. The Greek financial crisis (2010-2018) forced Athens to make drastic cuts to its social security schemes and defense spending.
But now the historic territorial dispute with Turkey in the Aegean Sea and Ankara's growing aggression in the Mediterranean meant that Athens could not ignore its defense for long. Now Greece has announced a defense spending of US $ 27 billion, which will strengthen its country's defense over 12 years.
Achilles Shield - What is Greece's new shield of defense?
Achilles Shield is Greece's most ambitious defense project, in which a multi-layer security system will be developed. This system will protect the country from threats like missiles, ballistics, aircraft, ships, submarines and drones. About 2.8 billion euros (about $ 3 billion) will be spent on this project. The project is targeted to be operational by 2027. Greece is in talks with Israel for this. Mitsotakis has said in Parliament that Greece already has the US Patriot missile system, but in view of the new demands, military cooperation is expected from Israel.
Greek media reports show that Athens is in talks with Israel to acquire the defensive dome. During his speech in Parliament, the Prime Minister has described Israel as a strategic partner in enhancing anti-missile capabilities. He said that Greece has the Patriot system, but due to the current demand, a new system may be needed in four to five years.
Greece's eye on BARAK system
Greek media reports show that Greece is trying very fast to buy the Israeli BARAK air defense system. If there is an agreement between the two countries, Greece will deploy BARAK in place of the outdated Soviet-era S-300 system. BARAK is a short range surface-to-air missile system, which is capable of protecting the country from airplanes, anti-ship missiles and drones. Apart from this, France, Italy and Norway are also among the potential partners. Dendias has said that now 25% participation of Greece will be necessary in every foreign defense deal. That is, Greece's defense industry will also become a partner in this project.
It is believed that there are geo-political factors behind this strategy, which aims to counter Turkey's aggression. Turkey's activities in Syria, Gaza and the Eastern Mediterranean have brought Israel and Greece very close to each other. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said during Eid, "O Allah, destroy Zionist Israel." In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called him a "dangerous dictator".
India, Israel and Greece.. Understand the geo-political strategy
Greece and Israel are both part of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), which is an ambitious project to connect India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Greece and Europe. Turkey opposes this project because this project isolates it. Let us tell you that there are historical disputes between Greece and Turkey. Like the 1974 Cyprus war, claims on gas reserves in the Aegean Sea, and maritime boundaries. In such a situation, if Greece wants to be like India and Israel, then why should it be so?
If India maintains close relations with other countries, Turkey will surely be troubled. Recently, the Indian Air Force took part in the Iniochos-25 multinational air exercise held in Greece, which further strengthened the military relations between the two countries.
