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Time for an intervention

Feb 28,2018 - Last updated at Feb 28,2018

Vast natural gas deposits found in the eastern Mediterranean Sea have become another flash point in the region, especially between Israel and Lebanon in one part of the sea, and Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus in another.

Existing tension between these countries is clearly spilling over into energy.

Ankara found itself locked in a dispute with Cyprus over huge gas reserves off its southern shores and has, in fact, used gunboat diplomacy to block gas exploration in that area on behalf of Nicosia.

Egypt, which sits on the region's biggest gas reserves, has also found itself trading angry barbs with Turkey over its gas exploration deal with Cyprus.

The gunboat diplomacy by neighbouring countries in the area soon reached the disputed territory on the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon.

The two countries have traded accusations over their maritime dispute, and both threatened military action to stop the other from exploiting gas reserves allegedly under its own sovereignty.

The ongoing sabre-rattling between neighbouring countries in the region is already threatening the eruption of major military confrontations. As if the Middle East is not already beset by hot flash points, the looming tensions between the eastern Mediterranean coastal countries over gas is piling up more problems for the region.

The UN has a specialised instrument for examining maritime tensions between neighbouring countries created under the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea and this is the time for its intervention.

All affected countries must here and now declare their readiness to accept international adjudication on their disputes and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.

Otherwise, the UN Security Council must become seized with the crises in Eastern Mediterranean as soon as possible, before they explode into full fledged wars. 

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