German Foreign Minister Thomas Maas says China’s increasingly confrontational behavior requires a joint U.S. and European response to preserve shared interests and values on both sides of the Atlantic.
Maas spoke Tuesday (March 9, 2021) by video message on transatlantic relations at a seminar hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. He said the future of Europe’s alliance with the United States will be a key to how it responds to the increasingly challenging and confrontational behavior of China and the growing aggressiveness of Russia.
Maas said Germany has taken action to address these challenges, including increasing its defense budget by 50 percent from 2014 levels and passing laws to address potential foreign malicious influences, especially possible threats in 5G mobile networks. “We have also responded to Moscow and Beijing‘s crackdown on civil society and violations of international law,” he said, adding that “as a trading nation, we are committed to maintaining the free flow of international shipping. A few days ago, our German government decided to send a naval force to the Indo-Pacific region for the first Time.”
Since the beginning of this year, France, Germany and Britain have all announced that they have sent or are preparing to send warships to cruise the South China Sea to work with the United States to maintain the free flow of this international sea.
But Foreign Minister Maas said that the Russian-Chinese threat cannot be effectively countered by unilateral force, so “strengthening NATO’s political role would be an important step, but it is even more important that we commit to a common response to repel threats to our security, democracy, human rights and international law from Russia, China and others. “
The German foreign minister, without naming names, criticized the “America First” approach taken by the former Trump administration, saying the traditional transatlantic approach to cooperation has fallen apart over the past four years, but expressed hope that the U.S. under Biden would enhance relations with Europe and restore close cooperation to jointly address major challenges, including those of China and Russia.
Secretary of State John Blinken held a videoconference Feb. 18 with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The foreign ministers agreed to “coordinate closely to address the global challenges posed by China and the need for cooperation on a range of issues, including climate change.
The Trump Administration has repeatedly criticized Germany and other European countries during the administration for not spending enough on defense, insisting on a gas pipeline from Russia to Europe and being unwilling to completely ban China’s huawei from participating in the country’s 5G mobile network.
In his speech on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Maas said Germany does not subscribe to the idea of the West against the East and does not favour complete economic decoupling, as engagement with all sides is needed to solve major problems faced by the world as a whole.
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