A trilateral joint maritime exercise of Cyprus, France, and Italy is scheduled to start on Thursday.

According to a statement released by the Cypriot Ministry of Defense, in the framework of the Republic of Cyprus’s defence cooperation with France and Italy, the tripartite naval exercise “PASSEX” will take place in the maritime area south of Cyprus and within the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus.

The goal is to test and improve the Naval capabilities and cooperation between the crews of the thee countries, enhance the level of communication and understanding and promote a spirit of collaboration.

The exercise sends a clear political message as the French company TOTAL and the Italian company ENI have secured exploration and drilling rights in maritime blocks of the Cyprus EEZ, areas Turkey has disputed claiming as its own EEZ, in violation of maritime law.