Germany sails two warships through Taiwan Strait for the first time in two decades

BANGKOK (AP) — Germany sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Friday in its first transit of the disputed waters in more than two decades, as Berlin seeks to increase its defense engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

China claims the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan as its own, and views such transits as provocative actions.

To challenge China’s claims, the United States and allies including Australia, Canada, Britain and France, have regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” operations there, sailing through the strait to emphasize that it is international waters.

In its last naval deployment to the region in 2021-22, Germany had sought to avoid confrontation with China and attempted a diplomatic balancing act, seeking a port call in China, which Beijing denied, and by not sailing through the Taiwan Strait.

The government was widely criticized for this approach, and on this deployment to the Indo-Pacific, leaders decided to sail through the strait en route from South Korea to the Philippines in a widely-telegraphed move.

“The signal is a very simple one, which we have always maintained and I have always maintained,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin. “International waters are international waters.”

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed in a post on X that the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and support ship Frankfurt am Main had transited through the strait from north to south, adding that throughout the sail “the situation remained normal.”

China, which often reacts sharply to American warships transiting the strait, was somewhat muted in its response.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that for Beijing, “the Taiwan issue is not an issue of freedom of