German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock did not rule out the possibility of a German frigate crossing the Taiwan Strait during her visit to New Zealand on Saturday.
On Tuesday, the German frigate Baden-Württemberg will leave with a supply ship for a months-long training mission to the Pacific Ocean. The ships will enter the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal and later cross the South China Sea.
The route the ships would follow would not be announced in advance, Baerbock said during a press conference with her New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters.
She emphasized that the “right of peaceful transit” applied across the Taiwan Strait.
“The same rules apply as in all comparable sea areas where our ships and other ships sail.”
Crossing the Taiwan Strait can be seen as a provocation by China. Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers its self-governed democracy part of its territory.
The US, Britain and France nevertheless maintain a military presence in the strait between Taiwan and China.
In 2021, the German frigate Bayern took part in maneuvers with then allies but avoided Taiwan during its voyage to the Pacific Ocean.
