12.8 C
Athens
Πέμπτη, 3 Απριλίου, 2025

German warships await orders on crossing Taiwan Strait

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

 Two German warships await orders from Berlin, their commander said, to determine whether next month they will be the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the Taiwan Strait, drawing a rebuke from Beijing.

While the U.S. and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the narrow strait in recent weeks, it would be the German navy’s first passage through the strait since 2002.

China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180-km (110 miles) wide waterway that divides the two sides and is part of the South China Sea. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

The Taiwan Strait is a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass, and both the United States and Taiwan say it’s an international waterway.

‘The decision has not been taken yet,’ the commander of the naval task group, Rear Admiral Axel Schulz, told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding the weather would play a role.

- Advertisement -

‘We are showing our flag here to demonstrate that we stand by our partners and friends, our commitment to the rules-based order, the peaceful solution of territorial conflicts and free and secure shipping lanes.’

Asked about the German ships’ potential passage, China’s foreign ministry said Taiwan was an internal Chinese affair and the key to stability was opposing Taiwan’s independence.

‘China has always been opposed to the undermining of China’s territorial sovereignty and security under the guise of freedom of navigation,’ ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Before their possible passage through the strait next month, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main plan to call in Tokyo on Tuesday. They will also make stops in South Korea and the Philippines.

They will take part in exercises in the region with France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States.

Over the last four years, Beijing’s military has increased its activities in the strait.

Expanding military presence

Sailings through the waterway by foreign warships, especially American, are regularly condemned by Beijing, which says such missions ‘undermine peace and stability’ in the region.

Germany, for whom both China and Taiwan, with its huge chip industry, are major trade partners, has joined other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region as their alarm has grown over Beijing’s territorial ambitions.

In 2021, a German warship sailed through the South China Sea, for the first time in almost 20 years.

Last month, the Luftwaffe deployed fighter jets to Japan for the first joint drills there.

Schulz said he was not planning for any specific security measures should the warships under his command cross the Taiwan Strait, calling it a ‘normal passage’ similar to sailing through the English Channel or the North Sea.

However, he anticipated any passage would be closely monitored.

‘I expect the Chinese navy and potentially the coastguard or maritime militia to escort us,’ he said, describing this as common practice.

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

U.S. House introduces bill to dismantle China’s secret police stations on American soil

On March 14, 2025, U.S. House lawmakers introduced a new bipartisan bill aimed at dismantling and preventing the operation of China’s secret police stations...

“There will be no surprise if Pakistan splits into four pieces soon…” Shahbaz Government in Pakistan shocked with the statement of JUI Supremo.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman has expressed concern over Pakistan’s security situation. He stated that Balochistan is under the control of terrorists, and due to increasing...

Pilot Error or Cover-Up? The K-8 Crash and SLAF’s Integrity at Stake

On March 21, 2025, a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) K-8 trainer aircraft crashed in Wariyapola during a routine training exercise. Both pilots ejected...

Fair Play in Question: EU Targets BYD’s Chinese Government Backing

The European Union (EU) has initiated an investigation into BYD, a major Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, focusing on its operations at a plant...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Aποκλειστικό-Καταιγιστικές εξελίξεις: Συγκρούσεις Ισραηλινού Στρατού με τους ισλαμιστές της Συρίας!-Το Ισραήλ κατέστρεψε όλες τις στρατιωτικές αεροπορικές βάσεις, εκτός από τη ρωσική βάση Hmeymim

Ένοπλες συγκρούσεις μεταξύ του Ισραηλινού Στρατού και των μαχητών που υποστηρίζουν τη Χαγιάτ Ταχρίρ αλ-Σαμ (HTS) στη Νταράα, στη νότια Συρία, συνεχίζονται την τελευταία...

Αποκλειστικό: Συγκλονιστικό ”λόγκο” από την Ινδική ΠΑ-Ινδικό Su-30 ”πετάει” ανάμεσα σε Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία & στο γνωστό μνημείο ”India Gate”

Κάτι πρωτόγνωρο συμβάινει στην πολυεθνική άσκηση Ηνίοχος 2025, που πραγματοποείται υπό την αιγίδα των Ελληνικών Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων, καθώς τα αεροσκάφη της πολεμικής μας αεροπορίας έχουν την...

Ισραηλινός αντιαεροπορικός «θόλος» επί ελληνικού εδάφους κατά των τουρκικών Bayraktar

Του ΓΙΩΡΓΟΥ ΣΙΔΕΡΗ, Hellas Journal Ο κος. Μητσοτάκης κατά την ομιλία του στην Βουλή για το δωδεκαετές εξοπλιστικό πρόγραμμα ύψους 25 δισεκατομμυρίων € (σ.σ. 2,08...

Ο Λευκός Οίκος διαψεύδει το Politico για τα περί αποχώρησης Μασκ από την κυβέρνηση Τραμπ

Σημερινό (02/04) δημοσίευμα του Politico ανέφερε ότι ο Έλον Μασκ αναμένεται να αποχωρήσει μέσα στις επόμενες εβδομάδες από επικεφαλής του Τμήματος Κυβερνητικής Αποτελεσματικότητας (DOGE)...