Germany sends troops to Australia for first time with concentrate on Indo-Pacific

By Reuters: Germany will, for the primary time, ship troops to Australia as a part of joint drills with some 30,000 service members from 12 different international locations, underlining Berlin’s elevated concentrate on the Indo-Pacific amid rising tensions with China within the area.

In latest years, Germany has had a higher army presence within the Indo-Pacific, at the same time as this implies strolling a tightrope between its safety and financial pursuits.

“It is a region of extremely high importance for us in Germany as well as for the European Union due to the economic interdependencies,” Army Chief Alfons Mais informed Reuters in an interview printed on Monday, hours earlier than the primary German troops have been to go away for Australia.

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China is Berlin’s most necessary buying and selling accomplice, and 40 per cent of Europe’s international commerce flows by way of the South China Sea, a waterway that may be a point of interest for territorial disputes within the Indo-Pacific.

In 2021, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the primary time in virtually 20 years. Last yr, Berlin despatched 13 army plane to joint workout routines in Australia, the air pressure’s largest peacetime deployment.

Mais stated as much as 240 German troopers, amongst them 170 paratroopers and 40 marines, will participate within the Talisman Sabre train from July 22 to August 4, the most important drills between Australia and the US, held bi-annually.

The Germans will practice in jungle warfare and touchdown operations alongside troopers from international locations akin to Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, France and Britain.

“We aim to demonstrate that we are reliable and capable partners that contribute to stabilising the rules-based order in the region,” Mais stated.

When requested what message the primary deployment of German troops to Australia was meant to ship to China, he underscored Berlin didn’t goal to antagonise anyone.

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“It generally makes sense to get to know the perspective others have upon the world,” stated the lieutenant normal, including that the present safety challenges have been a lot much less clear-cut than earlier than 1990.

“The Cold War was easy, it was a bipolar world. Today, we can no longer focus on Europe only…we have to position ourselves much more broadly,” the military chief underscored.

Mais plans to go to the German troops in Australia and a Rheinmetall plant assembling Boxer armoured transport automobiles for each armies in mid-July, earlier than travelling on to Japan and Singapore.

“Japan is a partner that holds a lot of potential for a deepening of our bilateral military cooperation,” he stated. As for Talisman Sabre, the German troops have already got orders to return to Australia for the following train in 2025.