ABOARD FGS FRANKFURT AM MAIN, AT CHANGI NAVAL BASE – The German Navy anticipated China’s reaction to its ships operating in the East and South China seas, Chief of the German Navy Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack said last week.
Frigate FGS Baden-Württemberg (F222) and Frankfurt am Main – the ships that comprised Indo-Pacific Deployment 2024, – arrived at Changi Naval Base the day before. In a press conference marking the occasion, task force commander Rear Adm. Axel Schulz said that while the German Navy task force operated in the East China Sea and transited through the Taiwan Strait, People’s Army Liberation Navy warships shadowed the German ships.
“They acted in a safe and professional manner, though they let us know that we are not really welcomed,” said Schulz.
Speaking aboard fleet oiler Frankfurt am Main while it was docked at Changi Naval Base in Singapore, Kaack added: “We didn’t see anything that we did not expect and that we were not prepared for.”
According to Kaack, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius argues Germany has the right to pass through the strait because it’s international waters. Kaack said German Navy ships have as much right to navigate international waters as PLAN ships did in July, when PLAN destroyer CNS Jiaozuo (163) and fleet oiler CNS Honghu (906) sailed through the Baltic Sea to participate in the Russian Navy Day celebration at St. Petersburg,
The German Navy chief said the German government’s Indo-Pacific policy guidelines and national security strategy call for all arms of the German government to have a stronger presence in the Indo-Pacific to support Germany’s partners. The German military will continue its annual deployments to the Indo-Pacific.
“We will go on as long as we have ships, aircraft and boots on the ground we can send,” added Kaack.
Asked if the situation in Europe, the Middle East and the Red Sea could interfere with future Indo-Pacific deployments, Kaack said one has to act and react to the situation at hand and, after a thorough assessment, decide whether to assign resources. The German Navy is at its smallest size since Kaack joined the service, he said. The force can currently muster approximately 50 ships, so he has to prioritize.
“This year, we were able to send two units and we’ll see how that develops,” he said.
Kaack also said Indo-Pacific deployments would be as a national task force rather than part of a multinational task force based on consultations with Indo-Pacific countries prior to the 2024 deployment. The countries advised that deploying under a national flag would enable Germany to promote its own strategic interests and demonstrate Germany’s commitment to the region.
Baden-Württemberg and Frankfurt am Main departed on May 7, crossing the Atlantic to make a port visit to New York before transiting the Panama Canal and making a port visit to San Diego. The task force then went to Hawaii to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise held in the summer. The task force then sailed to Japan, where it conducted the Noble Raven 24-3 exercise with Japan, Australia, France and Italy and monitored and surveilled operations in support of United Nations sanctions on North Korea.
During last week’s press conference, Schulz said that while PLAN ships shadowed the German Navy task force during the sanctions monitoring mission, the Chinese ships didn’t interfere with or harass the German ships. Schulz also said that in radio communications, the PLAN ships “stated how they see the South China Sea and other waters within their laws and then we replied that we operate in international waters, that we operate in the high seas and that we exercise freedom of navigation in international waters.”
