Thursday 06 May 2021 @ 15:10
Chatham House
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Germany’s Indo-Pacific frigate may send unclear message

EXPERT COMMENT

Changing plans show how naval deployments can undermine rather than help both the upholding of international law and a strategy of deterrence against China.

When it recently emerged that Germany was planning to deploy the Bayern frigate to the South China Sea, it was widely interpreted as a move towards taking a tougher stand against China’s territorial claims in Asia. Defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer framed the deployment as a demonstration of solidarity with allies and ‘like-minded’ partners in the region.

Despite Germany’s dependence on China as an export market and the close political relationship between Beijing and Berlin over the past decade, it seemed Germany was prepared to go beyond a rhetorical commitment to the international rule of law and take concrete steps to uphold it alongside France and the UK, both of which have carried out ‘presence operations’ in the Indo-Pacific recently.

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Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/05/germanys-indo-pacific-frigate-may-send-unclear-message

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