Israeli warships to patrol disputed gas fields
Israel is planning to dramatically increase its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in a bid to maximize control over disputed offshore gas fields.
With extraction of vast reserves of recently-discovered natural gas due to begin next year, Israeli military officials have been putting together a plan for securing oil rigs in areas which Lebanon claims as its own.
Although Israel and Cyprus reached an agreement on naval borders in December 2010, Lebanon disputes the deal and rejects Israel's proposed maritime boundary between the two states that Israel submitted to the United Nations in July 2011.
According to a military map made available to AFP, Israel claims an EEZ that extends 70 nautical miles (129 kilometers) offshore from Rosh HaNikra on the Lebanese border and some 100 nautical miles from Israel's border with Gaza in the south.
Beirut disputes these claims, saying the proposed boundary infringes on Lebanon's EEZ by at least 360 square kilometers, an area in which many of the most valuable gas fields are located.
"Our strategy is to use both presence and deterrence on a huge scale," a senior Israeli naval officer said, indicating that Israel plans to use an aggressive approach.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israeli-warships-patrol-disputed-gas-fields
Beyond lebensraum.
