TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The German Navy will send two ships through the Taiwan Strait this month.
The frigate Baden-Wurttemberg and the supply ship Frankfurt am Main will sail through the strait while en route from South Korea to Indonesia in mid-September, Der Spiegel reported. The two ships are on their Indo-Pacific deployment, which includes a round-the-world voyage.
Berlin does not intend to notify the Chinese government of the passage. Before their transit, the ships will participate in regional exercises, including monitoring the arms embargo against North Korea.
China had warned against traveling through the Taiwan Strait before the ships began their mission on May 7. Germany’s defense and foreign ministry supported a strait transit, while the chancellor's office initially had reservations, per Der Spiegel.
Commenting on the deployment, Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said in May, “We want to strengthen our regional partnerships and consolidate our position as a reliable actor in the region.” The Indo-Pacific is “a region of increasingly global, strategic importance,” he added.
The German foreign ministry has said the Indo-Pacific has been a new partner in the government’s Enable & Enhance initiative, which helps partners bolster their crisis prevention and management capabilities by providing consulting and necessary equipment.
Germany sent the frigate Bayern on an Indo-Pacific deployment from August 2021 to February 2022 focusing on “diplomacy and security policy,” according to the German military. The Bayern participated in joint exercises with Australia, Singapore, Japan, and the US, but it did not sail through the Taiwan Strait.
