Britain, Germany and other European countries are planning to deploy their navies in Indo-Pacific waters this year, a move that some experts say could strengthen alliances and deepen defense cooperation with the United States and Japan, and build trust with regional trading partners while keeping China in check and dealing with its growing threats and expanding presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said Germany will send a frigate to patrol Indo-Pacific waters starting in 2021.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Karrenbauer said, “I am convinced that territorial disputes, violations of international law and China’s ambitions for global domination can only be resolved multilaterally.”
Also according to Kyodo News, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi last month expressed his desire for German frigates to participate in the exercise with The Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and he also wanted the exercise to be conducted through the South China Sea, which China calls the South China Sea.
Kahlenbauer also said: “What is happening in the Indo-Pacific region affects Germany and Europe. We are willing to cooperate to maintain a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.”
China has reportedly stepped up island-building and patrolling in the South China Sea in recent years and has sought to expand its military presence in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere. China has also invested trillions of yuan in modernizing its military, increasing the number of aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and stealth warplanes in an attempt to build the PLA into a military force that can rival the United States and other Western powers.
In addition to Germany, Britain is among those proposing to increase its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. The Royal Navy announced Monday (Jan. 4) that the British Carrier Battle Group (CSG), with HMS Queen Elizabeth as its core carrier, has achieved initial operational capability. This means that all components, from warplanes to radar systems to anti-ship weapons, have been successfully assembled and made operational.
This is a very important milestone for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy and the nation as a whole,” said Jeremy Quin, the British defense secretary, in a statement. This achievement is a testament to the commitment of our service personnel and industrial workforce, who provide a first-class military capability that only a few nations possess. I wish the entire Carrier Battle Group the best of luck in making progress ahead of its first operational deployment this year.”
Commodore Steve Moorhouse, commander of the carrier battle group, tweeted that the initial operational capability is just the beginning. The U.K. will increase the size and complexity of the carrier battle group in the coming years.
He added, “The fact that the carrier battle group is now on high alert means we will deploy within 5 days of notification, if required, to respond to global events and defend UK interests.”
The exact date of the first deployment has not been announced. CNN reported that since 2017, British defense officials have been saying that the first deployment will include routes from the U.K. to Asia and the Pacific, possibly via the South China Sea.
Some experts have noted that an increased military presence in the Indo-Pacific region by some European countries could strengthen alliances with the United States and Japan and deepen defense cooperation with both countries to preserve shared values and a rules-based order in the region.
Zachary Hosford, acting director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund (GMF), a think tank, said these countries are signaling to the U.S. that they are willing to stand with Washington and recognize the need to maintain the international order and Beijing’s challenge to it, which includes building artificial island military bases.
According to Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a European think tank, the Indo-Pacific deployments of some European countries could allow alliances and defense cooperation to be strengthened, as could the interoperability of forces, and the Chinese factor certainly contributes to the strengthening of European and Japanese security relations, but much depends on the Kan administration’s future approach to China.
Steven Lamy, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, said, “They are making sure that China knows that they will stop any unilateral action that threatens trade and security in Asia.”
Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the Institute for Enterprise, a U.S. think tank, argues that Europe’s Far East deployment is more of a symbol. He said, “Some people in Europe want to prove that they can help in Asia, too. To me, that’s a positive sign, but it’s more of a signal than a military value.”
In addition to countering China’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, the UK and Germany actually have their own considerations behind their Asia-Pacific deployments. Jamie Shea, a former NATO official, points to the UK’s actions as a demonstration of its post-Brexit vision of a “global Britain.
“This aspiration is focused on the Asia-Pacific region because the UK is convinced that new trade agreements with Asia-Pacific countries are key to the UK’s future economic growth,” Shea told Voice of America, “and the UK’s military capability to project power in the Asia-Pacific region is key to demonstrating the UK’s strategic relevance in the region. The Royal Navy is a priority here because the ships can be flexibly deployed and are a good way to demonstrate presence.”
Shea added that Britain’s defense procurement and its “decision to send the ‘HMS Queen Elizabeth’ to the South China Sea also sends a signal to Washington that Britain remains willing and able to be a major strategic ally of the United States.”
He also argued that Germany does not appear to want to be a global military power and actor, but that it also has important economic and trade interests in Asia. “Sending occasional frigates and participating in maritime exercises is a useful way to build trust and develop partnerships and interoperability with Germany’s key trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region.”
In addition, U.S. Marines are intensifying their training in Japan to prepare for island conflicts in the Western Pacific.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Marines are preparing to deal with an adversary larger and more sophisticated than extremists in the Middle East and Afghanistan. China’s military satellites, cyber warfare capabilities and use of artificial intelligence, coupled with a narrowing weapons gap with the U.S., make it what the Pentagon calls a “near-parallel” adversary.
As mentioned in an opinion piece posted on Phoenix, China’s biggest challenge in the next four years may be the pressure of this alliance system. One is the U.S. Asia-Pacific allies, and some European allies, who may want to form a larger alliance system, a new system that expands on top of the past system.
The article added: “But if they really dare to play with fire on China’s doorstep and provoke our bottom line, they are playing the wrong game. The Chinese military will not hesitate to respond with the swiftest and most forceful response. The China of today is not the same China of 180 years ago.”
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei was asked about the British Navy sending the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier to the South China Sea in 2021, saying, “The Chinese military will take necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty, security and development interests, and firmly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. stability.”
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