ISTANBUL: Turkey on Saturday launched new military manoeuvres in the eastern Mediterranean expected to last two weeks, as tensions between Ankara and Athens mounted over maritime borders and gas drilling rights.

The dispute has reignited the long-running rivalry between Greece and Turkey, with the two neighbours staging rival naval drills.

In a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, Turkey said it would carry out "shooting exercises" from Saturday until September 11 in a zone off the southern Turkish town of Anamur, north of the island of Cyprus. Ankara had already announced on Thursday that military exercises would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in a zone further east.

In a sign of the volatility of the situation, Turkey's defence ministry said Friday that fighter jets had on Thursday intercepted six Greek aircraft which were approaching a zone where a Turkish research ship was deployed, forcing them to turn around.