The chief of Germany’s navy, Kay-Achim Schönbach, said that the dispatch of a German frigate to the Indo-Pacific was meant to show support for Japan, the US and other allies. Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo on November 9, 2021, the vice admiral said Germany is joining its partners in advocating for peace, free navigation and rule-based international order in the area. The frigate Bayern arrived in the Japanese capital on November 5, becoming the first German warship to visit Japan in nearly 20 years. Schönbach said that to demonstrate the right to freedom of passage, the vessel will sail through the South China Sea, where China has been increasingly pressing its territorial claims.
Video source: AP
