Egypt, Greece and Cyprus are preparing to conduct joint military exercises off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea amid mounting tensions with Turkey over maritime borders and gas exploration rights.

The naval and air drills are the latest in a series of military exercises dubbed “Medusa-10” and will be conducted in the first week of December. Such exercises have been held twice a year for years between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus in their exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean with the participation of units from the navy, air force and special operations forces from the three countries.

The exercises come a full year after the last Medusa-9 round, held on the island of Crete in November 2019. This year’s drills were scheduled for the summer but postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Greek press reports indicated that France and the United Arab Emirates might take part in this year’s maneuvers for the first time. It would not come as a surprise in light of the two countries’ anti-Turkish stances in the eastern Mediterranean. In May, Egypt, the UAE, Cyprus, Greece and France issued a joint statement denouncing the Turkish moves in the eastern Mediterranean as provocative and illegal.