Monday, August 02, 2021
“I definitely don’t like China”
Germany sends warship to the Pacific
On behalf of German “values and interests”, the frigate “Bayern” is to set course for the Indo-Pacific. Tension dominates the area between China and a US-led coalition. According to experts, it is still unclear exactly how Germany’s role will play out locally.
At the start of the frigate “Bavaria” in the Indo-Pacific mission, Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer called this trip a “symbol of stability, prosperity and a rule-based, multilateral order”. “The Indo-Pacific is about our values and interests,” said the minister on Twitter, before the warship with more than 200 soldiers on board was supposed to leave the naval base in Wilhelmshaven. The frigate will be en route for a good six months – from the Horn of Africa to Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
In the region, “important decisions are made about peace, security and prosperity,” said the CDU politician. “Because security in the Indo-Pacific is also our security.” By sending a German warship to the region for almost two decades, the federal government wants to show its allies more German engagement in the Indo-Pacific.
The region is geopolitically and economically controversial. China has territorial claims, particularly in the South China Sea. First and foremost, Washington is trying to militarily put a stop to Beijing and is increasingly demanding this from its partners. “For Germany the mission is a big step, a positive step. The country is increasing its presence in the region for the first time and underpinning its Indo-Pacific guidelines,” said defense expert Helena Legarda from the Berlin China Institute Merics. “It’s a move China definitely doesn’t like.”
“Defense of an International Order”
With the guidelines published last year, the Federal Government claims that it is striving for increased security policy cooperation in the region and advocates the “defense of a rule-based international order” there. With the dispatch of the frigate, the government is now underpinning its guidelines militarily. But Berlin does not want to upset the leadership in Beijing.
“The federal government sends a mixed message with its mission,” said Legarda. “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 is welcomed by the Americans and other allies in the region, Legarda stated. “Nevertheless, it remains open to the partners what Berlin’s goal is when it comes to curbing China’s strivings for power.”
“The mission is unlikely to go far enough for the allies, as confrontation is evidently avoided,” the expert suspects. “You will insist that the dispatch of the frigate is not a one-off event.” The “Bayern” is expected back in Wilhelmshaven at the end of February. On the way, she participates in the NATO “Sea Guardian” mission in the Mediterranean, the EU “Atalanta” mission off the Horn of Africa and the UN mission for maritime surveillance off North Korea.
The warship, which was commissioned in 1996 and is 139 meters long, belongs to the Brandenburg-class frigate. Four ships of this type that were commissioned in the 1990s sail the world’s oceans under the German flag. They are among the older frigates in the Navy and are mainly used for submarine hunting.
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