Greece and Turkey have increased their military manoeuvres in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days. At the heart of the dispute between the historic rivals lies the search for hydrocarbons.

Tensions have been mounting in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days with announcements of military exercises in the area emerging from a slew of countries. It has not reached the stage of open conflict fortunately, but the escalations between Greece and Turkey have been alarming.

On the one hand, Turkey on Thursday announced that it would conduct military exercises, including firing exercises, on September 1 and 2 off the Turkish town of Iskenderun, north east of Cyprus.