New Delhi: The Berlin government on Monday ordered its navy to reach the South China Sea (SCS). Germany sent its warships to the South China Sea for the first time in two decades. The Berlin Government in its statement said that “the German navy will stick to common trade routes.”
German Navy will join other Western nations’ navy in the South China Sea and will expand its military presence in the region amid growing alarm over China’s territorial ambitions. Berlin in its statement cleared that “Germany does not accept China’s territorial claims.”
China claims swathes of the South China Sea and has established military outposts on artificial islands in the waters that contain gas fields and rich fishing.
The vessel is expected to cross the South China Sea in mid-December, making it the first German warship to pass through the region since 2002. According to a media report, Germany is walking a tightrope between its security and economic interests as China has become Berlin’s most important trading partner.
German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer traveled to the port of Wilhelmshaven to see the frigate Bayern off on its seven-month voyage that will take it to Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam.
“We want existing law to be respected, sea routes to be freely navigable, open societies to be protected and trade to follow fair rules,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.
Countries including Britain, France, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, have also been expanding their activity in the Pacific to counter China’s influence.
The US Navy in SCS shows the force against the Chinese territorial claims, conducting so-called ‘freedom of navigation’ operations in which their vessels pass close by some of the contested islands.
China opposes the US Navy in SCS by saying that the “US does not help promote peace or stability in the region. Washington has put countering China at the heart of its national security policy and seeks to rally partners against what it says are Beijing’s increasingly coercive economic and foreign policies.”