Two German warships are awaiting orders from Berlin to determine whether they would be the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the Taiwan Strait next month, at the risk of stoking tensions with Beijing, a German commander said.
While the US and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the narrow strait in recent weeks, it would be the German navy’s first passage through the Strait since 2002.
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180km waterway that divides the two sides.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan strongly objects to these claims, saying only its people can decide their future and that the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.
“The decision has not been made yet,” Rear Admiral Axel Schulz told Reuters, adding that the weather would play a role.
“We are showing our flag here to demonstrate that we stand by our partners and friends, our commitment to the rules-based order, the peaceful solution of territorial conflicts and free and secure shipping lanes,” Schulz said.
The German frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main plan to call in Tokyo today. They would also make stops in South Korea and the Philippines. They are to take 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, especially US warships, are regularly condemned by Beijing, which says such missions “undermine peace and stability” in the region.
Germany, for whom China and Taiwan are major trade partners, has joined other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region, as their alarm has grown over Beijing’s territorial ambitions.
A German warship in 2021 sailed through the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years.
Luftwaffe, the aerial warfare branch of the German armed forces, last month deployed fighter jets to Japan for the first joint drills there.
Schulz said he did not have specific security measures should the warships under his command cross the Taiwan Strait, calling it a “normal passage” similar to sailing through the English Channel or the North Sea.
However, he anticipates the passage would be closely monitored.
“I expect the Chinese navy and potentially the coast guard or maritime militia to escort us,” Schulz said, adding that it was common practice.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
RSS