Eberhard Zorn, inspector general of the German armed forces Bundeswehr, waits for the German Chancellor expected to visit the Bundeswehr Operations Command in Schwielowsee, eastern Germany on March 4, 2022. (TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP)
BERLIN – Germany will expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific by sending more warships and joining drills with allies, the German defense chief told Reuters.
Germany is joining other Western nations in showing more muscle in the region.
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Last year, Berlin sent its first warship in almost 20 years to the South China Sea and this month it sent 13 military aircraft to joint exercises in Australia.
Germany has historically been timider in its security policy than its allies due to its role in two world wars, focusing more on trade in its international relations
General Eberhard Zorn told Reuters the Bundeswehr planned on sending troops to participate in training exercises in Australia next year, while the navy would send a fleet of several more ships to the region in 2024.
"This is how we want to consolidate our presence in the region," Zorn said in an interview at the defense ministry in Berlin.
Germany has historically been timider in its security policy than its allies due to its role in two world wars, focusing more on trade in its international relations.
But partners have in recent years called on Germany to show more leadership, in keeping with its might as Europe's largest economy and most populous country.
In 2020, Berlin published a new Indo-Pacific strategy with a focus on strengthening alliances with democracies in the region, marking a turning point. Then German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February pledged a dramatic hike in spending on the military after Russia’s launching of a special military operation in Ukraine.
Asked whether Germany might send a warship sailing through the Taiwan Straits as has the United States, Zorn said it was a sensitive matter decided upon at the highest political level.
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"We do not want to provoke anyone with our presence but rather send a strong sign of solidarity with our allies," he said. "We stand for the freedom of navigation and the safeguarding of international norms."