Germany is acting more globally in terms of security policy than it did just a few years ago. This is also demonstrated by the presence of the Bundeswehr in the Indo-Pacific region.
Berlin/Seoul – A visit to the northern border region is actually a must for every South Korean tourist. But since dictator Kim Jong Un Hundreds of balloons filled with garbage are sent to the south of the divided country, and you can only get into the “demilitarized zone” with special permission and accompanied by the South Korean Defense Ministry. It is an unreal world that opens up to you there. Deserted, heavily guarded, with barbed wire on both sides and mines along the roads. The Cold War, which many in Europe see as looming again, never ended here.
Kim Jong-un’s garbage balloons are not a real danger, but rather a nuisance for the people in whose front gardens they land. However, the danger of further escalation is great. “There are currently no channels through which we can communicate with the North,” said a spokesman for the Unification Ministry in the South Korean capital Seoul in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA. Misunderstandings are therefore inevitable.
Kim Jong-un has weapons and ammunition sent to Russia on a large scale
As part of a multi-day trip to the Indo-Pacific, the Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius the divided country. The Korean peninsula is one of many flashpoints in a region that Germany is increasingly looking at with concern. Not only because North Korea’s weapons tests threaten the fragile peace in East Asia. Kim Jong-un is also having weapons and ammunition sent to Russia on a large scale, which are then used on the battlefields of Ukraine.
Security in Europe and the situation in East Asia are more closely linked than they have been for decades. “One is not conceivable without the other,” said Pistorius in Hawaii, the first stop on his trip to the Pacific region. In the US state, the minister met soldiers from the armed forcesparticipating in the multinational exercise “Rimpac 24” under the leadership of the USmarine participated.
Defence Minister Pistorius has announced an intensive engagement in the Indo-Pacific region
The Indo-Pacific strategy that Germany adopted four years ago states that the region is the “key to shaping the international order in the 21st century.” A year ago, Pistorius had therefore promised intensive involvement of the Bundeswehr in the region. In South Korea, there will now be talks with partners from the region and a visit to the United Nations Command there, his ministry said in response to a query. “The minister’s overarching goal is to intensify security and defense policy relations in the region and to further expand them through cooperation.”
In addition to South Korea, the Philippines are also on the SPD politician’s visit program. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense did not want to anticipate the specific program items. “Stability in the Indo-Pacific region is of particular importance for Germany and Europe,” she emphasized in view of the week-long trip. It is a key region for the economy, technology and security “with a special role in world trade and global value chains.”
Excursions are also planned to the South China Sea
In order to ensure safe sea routes and the rule-based order on the ocean, Germany is showing a “temporary presence” in the region, the Ministry of Defense said. For example, with the “Indo-Pacific Deployment,” an operation for which the frigate “Baden-Württemberg” and a task force supply ship of the Navy and Air Force set off in May. A trip through the South China Sea, another hotspot in the region, is planned for later in the year.
China claims almost the entire area for itself, and there are regular clashes there, especially with the Philippines. The South China Sea is not only rich in fishing grounds, it also has large oil and gas reserves. Above all, a large part of world trade passes through the region.
China usually reacts to passages through the Taiwan Strait with tangible threats
This also applies to the Taiwan Strait, where communist China repeatedly carries out military maneuvers to intimidate the government in Taipei. Beijing considers the democratically governed island state to be part of its own territory and threatens to incorporate it militarily. It was not yet clear whether the “Baden-Württemberg” and its supply ship would sail through the Taiwan Strait. China has so far mostly responded to passages by other nations with concrete threats.
Like other trading nations, Germany is dependent on free sea routes and access to international markets, explained the Defense Ministry spokeswoman. That is why the federal government is “working with other partners to maintain the international rules-based order based on international law.” The Defense Ministry is contributing to this with diplomacy, cooperation and a “balanced military presence.”
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