The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s bill for extending Greece’s territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Ionian Sea was ratified in parliament in a Wednesday evening vote, receiving absolute majority, as required by Article 27 of the constitution for legislative acts that effect a change in the borders of the state.

The bill received 284 votes of approval, favored by ruling party New Democracy, main opposition party SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Movement For Change (KINAL), Greek Solution and MeRA25. The Greek Communist Party declared itself ‘present’ in the proceedings, which does not count as a vote of rejection.

The full title of the bill is “Determination of the extent of the coastal zone in the Ionian Sea region and the Ionian Islands up to Cape Tainaro in the Peloponnese.”

Greece decided to exercise its right to extend its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea, as provided for by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, said government sources; the agreement is also known as the Montego Bay agreement, as it was signed there in 1982.