German warship sets sail to follow Royal Navy through South China Sea
GERMANY sent a warship to the South China Sea for the first time in almost two decades on Monday, after the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group was deployed to the disputed region amid growing alarm over China’s territorial ambitions.
China claims a large area of the South China Sea and has established military outposts on artificial islands that contain gas fields and rich fishing.
It issued a stark warning after the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth last week, with an editorial in the Global Times, a state newspaper, saying that Beijing “is likely to escalate its attempts to expel the warships at any time”.
In a show of force against China’s territorial claims, the US Navy regularly conducts so-called “freedom of navigation” operations in which their vessels pass close by some of the contested islands.
Western nations including France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, have also been expanding their activity in the Pacific to counter China’s influence.
Now Germany is joining the efforts. Officials in Berlin have said the navy will stick to common trade routes. The frigate is not expected to sail through the heavily contested Taiwan Strait, which HMS Queen Elizabeth also avoided on its outbound journey.
But Berlin has made it clear that the mission serves to stress that it does not accept China’s territorial claims, even as it walks a tightrope between its security and economic interests.
China has become Berlin’s most important trading partner, and German exports there have helped to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Europe’s biggest economy.
Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer, the German defence minister, travelled to the port of Wilhelmshaven to see the frigate Bayern off on a seven-month voyage that will take it to Australia, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.
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.
“We want existing law to be respected, sea routes to be freely navigable, open societies to be protected and trade to follow fair rules,” Ms Kramp-karrenbauer said.
‘We want existing law to be respected, sea routes to be freely navigable, open societies to be protected’