A German frigate will depart for Asia in August, crossing the South China Sea on its way back, a senior German government official said Tuesday (March 2). This will be the first German warship to sail through the South China Sea since 2002.
According to Reuters, officials from the German Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry said the warship will not cross the so-called “12 nautical miles” waters. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that the width of a country’s territorial sea should not exceed 12 nautical miles. China’s territorial waters are 12 nautical miles wide.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded on Wednesday to the German warship that will cross the South China Sea, saying, “Countries enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea as stipulated by international law, but this cannot be used as an excuse to endanger the sovereignty and security of coastal states.”
Jamie Shea, a former NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) spokesman, told Voice of America earlier this year that Germany does not seem to want to be a global military power and actor, but that Germany also has important economic and trade interests in Asia, and that “occasionally sending frigates and participating in maritime exercises is a good way to build trust with Germany’s main trading partners in the region, to A useful way to develop partnerships and interoperability”.
The South China Sea is rich in fisheries and submarine fuel resources. Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are all claimants to the South China Sea, and China claims sovereignty over almost all of its waters. China has intensified its island-building and patrolling efforts in the South China Sea in recent years, causing international concern and worry.
In addition to Germany, other countries in Europe and the United States have been planning to send warships into the waters.
A British defense official said in January that Britain’s flagship aircraft carrier strike group is ready to enter the South China Sea. French Defense Minister Florence Parly also said in early February that France had sent an attack submarine to the South China Sea waters.
The United States has often accused China of trying to expand its military presence in the South China Sea, and the U.S. Navy regularly sails in the South China Sea waters to demonstrate freedom of navigation at sea.
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