German warships could be sent through the Taiwan Strait to challenge Beijing’s claims over international waterways, which would mark a departure of Germany’s decades-long non-confrontation policy, US media outlet Politico’s European branch said yesterday.
German officials last week confirmed, after discussing the issue with the German Federal Ministry of Defense, that such plans were being considered, said an article by John Vinocur, former executive editor and vice president of the International Herald Tribune.
Should the administration of German Chancellor Angela Merkel go ahead with the plan, Germany would be challenging the French opinion that Germany is running a “non-combat army” while openly backing allies, Vinocur said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, the plan would be provocative to those in Germany who favor non-aggression, he said.
Vinocur cited as examples of Germany’s reluctance to engage in conflicts the withdrawal of its navy from the combat zone during the Libyan intervention in 2011, caveats on its troop deployments in Afghanistan and its decision not to directly participate in attacks on the Islamic State group in Syria — unlike its NATO neighbors Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and France.
Reasons to go ahead with the plan would include improving US-German relations — especially after a recently announced six-month suspension to US tariffs on German vehicles — and one-upping France, which claims to have the only functioning military in the EU, Vinocur said.
France in April sent a frigate through the Taiwan Strait, which was shadowed by the Chinese military and resulted in Beijing lodging official protests with Paris regarding its “illegal passage” through the waterway.
Later that month, the US dispatched two destroyers through the Taiwan Strait, which a US official said demonstrated “the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
While Vinocur applauded some elements in Germany’s military for attempting to challenge the slight on the country for a “hide-under-the-bed routine,” he said that the chances of the Merkel administration going ahead with the plan “are not overwhelmingly promising.”
“Germany is politically riven to the state of instability,” Vinocur said, citing Merkel’s “paralytic” coalition with the Social Democratic Party being likely to dissolve and the growth of popularity of the Green Party.
Merkel’s chosen successor, Christian Democratic Union leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, is increasingly unpopular with the German public, Vinocur said, citing a poll last week showing that 70 percent of Germans think she is not up to the task.
Economically, Germany is looking at a 0.6 percent fall in GDP, with no signs of improvement next year, he said, citing Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce reports.
Against that backdrop, launching a naval operation in the Taiwan Strait would be a groundbreaking, but unfamiliar act of valor that would first require the German Navy to get that far, he added.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS