The Ionian Sea in Greece has been approved by the nation’s supreme court from six to 12 nautical miles, Greek City Times reported.

The decree covers the maritime zone from the Ionian Sea islands to Cape Tenaro at the southern tip of the Peloponnese.

The decree says the Greek government reserves the right to exercise similar rights in other regions, notably the Aegean.

In August, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government was planning to submit a bill to double Greece’s territorial waters in the Ionian Sea.

In future Greece could also extend its territorial waters in other maritime areas, he added.

In the mid-1990s, Greece similarly attempted to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea to 12 miles, but scuttled the plan after Turkey declared such a move would be a casus belli or cause for war.