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German frigate on the way to the Indo-Pacific: no confrontation with China

2021-08-02T14:28:04.033Z


The German frigate Bavaria is on its way to Asia. In a historic mission, Germany wants to show its flag in the Far East for the rule-based world order. But Berlin is not banking on confrontation with China.


The German frigate Bavaria is on its way to Asia.

In a historic mission, Germany wants to show its flag in the Far East for the rule-based world order.

But Berlin is not banking on confrontation with China.

Wilhelmshaven / Munich - The frigate

Bayern took off

from Wilhelmshaven on Monday for its long-planned Indo-Pacific mission.

For a good six months, the frigate will be underway with a good 230 soldiers on board - from the Horn of Africa to Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

On the way back she will cross the South China Sea according to the plans.

With the mission, the federal government wants to show more German presence in the Indo-Pacific.

The region is considered to be geopolitically and economically crucial for the 21st century.

With its claims to territorial power, China is causing instability, especially in the South China Sea.

Indo-Pacific: decisive for the international order of the future

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas emphasized that the shape of the international order of the future will be decided in the Indo-Pacific. “We want to help shape this and take responsibility for maintaining the rule-based international order,” Maas continued. The term “rule-based order” has been used by the US and Europe for some time, especially with reference to China, which the allies accuse of violating this very order. China claims practically the entire South China Sea with its atolls and islets. Other states, such as the Philippines, also lay claim to parts of the sea. From the west's point of view, most of the sea is international water.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke in July in a video conference with her Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe about the situation in the Indo-Pacific.

According to the ministry, she again pointed out to Wei the German legal position in relation to China's territorial claims.

Germany considered the Unclos arbitration ruling of July 2016 - in which China's maritime claims were declared largely legally ineffective - as binding, it said.

As early as the spring, Kramp-Karrenbauer had indicated that the frigate's mission was primarily about limiting Chinese influence.

Germany: Diplomatic embedding of the frigate mission

The US has been in the region for a long time with various warships, on a mission to enforce freedom of navigation in the sea area. There are always incidents with the Chinese Navy. Germany, on the other hand, does not want to challenge anyone with its missions, not even China. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave Beijing advance notice of the frigate's route. It also emphasizes that only the usual trade routes are used to pass through the busy sea area. There should be no military escalation with Beijing - Berlin makes this clear from the start. The Federal Ministry of Defense described the mission on its website as a "presence and training trip and not a deployment within the meaning of the Parliamentary Participation Act".In other words: It is not a foreign assignment, such as the sending of soldiers to Afghanistan, that would have to be approved by the Bundestag. Germany deliberately hangs the trip rather low.

Mixed messages before the frigate's voyage

"The federal government is sending a mixed message with its mission," the AFP news agency quoted defense expert Helena Legarda from the Berlin China Institute Merics.

“If the frigate adheres to the usual trade routes as announced and does not carry out any 'Freedom of Navigation' operations with its partners, then Berlin will de facto submit to the rules established by China.” In principle, the mission will be run by the Americans and other allies Legarda believes that the region is welcomed.

"Nevertheless, it remains open to the partners what Berlin's goal is when it comes to the question of curbing China's drive for power."

Especially since Beijing also requested a port visit to China, which the partners viewed rather suspiciously.

So far, Beijing has been taking its time with a commitment.

According to Legarda, a decision could be delayed for a long time because China will wait for the outcome of the elections in Germany.

"Depending on which party coalition is at the top, either a continuation of the current China policy is expected or even a tightening."

US Missions: Defense of Western Values ​​in the Indo-Pacific

The missions of states such as the USA or Great Britain and France are meanwhile always declared as a defense of Western values. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer also tweeted shortly before the

Bavarians ran out

: "It is good to talk about our values, it is even better to do something specifically for them," said the minister. “Together with our value partners in the region, Germany shows its

presence in the Indo-Pacific

with the frigate

Bavaria

and sends a signal of solidarity.” Germany wants “that existing law is respected, sea routes are unrestricted, open societies are protected and that trade is based on fair rules he follows."

In 2020, Germany - like France and the Netherlands - published a strategy paper on the Indo-Pacific region for the first time. This does not refer directly to China, but rather broadly defined in its objectives: Germany's interests include peace and security, deepening regional relations, open shipping routes, free trade and even climate protection. It is worded more generally.

According to the Defense Ministry,

the

Bavarian

trip

is a "central component in the practical implementation" of these strategic guidelines. In any case, the mission is quite historic - no German warship has been in this area for almost two decades. 

(ck / with AFP and dpa)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-08-02

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