German warships set to pass through Taiwan Strait this month: Report
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Sailors watching as the German navy replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main enters port in Incheon, South Korea, as part of a two-ship cruise through the Indo-Pacific, on Sept 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FRANKFURT - Two German warships are set to pass through the sensitive Taiwan Strait in the middle of September, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sept 7.
Reuters reported in August that the warships were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail through the strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing.
Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasise that Berlin views the trip as normal.
Germany’s Defence Ministry declined to comment.
While the US and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the strait in recent weeks, it would be the German navy’s first passage since 2002.
China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180km wide waterway in between.
Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims, and says only the island’s people can decide their future.
The Taiwan Strait is a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass, and both the US and Taiwan say it is an international waterway.
The commander of the German naval task group, Rear-Admiral Axel Schulz, told Reuters in August that such a passage would demonstrate Germany’s commitment to a rules-based order and the peaceful solution of territorial conflicts.
The two German vessels are taking part in exercises in the region with France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and the US.
Sailings through the waterway by foreign warships are regularly condemned by Beijing, which says they “undermine peace and stability” in the region.
Germany, for which both China and Taiwan are major trade partners, has joined other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region in response to Beijing’s growing territorial ambitions. REUTERS
