An explanatory piece - from the pier. The question of whether the German Navy's Indo-Pacific convoy, consisting of the frigate "Baden-Württemberg" and the task force provider "Frankfurt am Main", should sail through the Red Sea on the way back from its world tour has been raised since the convoy left port on 7 May 2024. It was foreseeable for naval officers that no such passage would take place without an end to the Houthi threat. The decision therefore came as little surprise to the navy and its experts. From the beginning: the world watched in horror as Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. From November 2023, the Houthis targeted ships of the pro-Israeli Western world. Yet another war and its consequences fell at our feet. And the "Ever Given" accident had already shown us what the closure of the Suez Canal meant. The EU responded: with Operation European Union Naval Force - Aspides (EUNAVFOR Aspides), it was decided in December 2023 - in cooperation with the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian - to respond to the attacks by the Houthi rebels. Germany successfully participated from February 2024 with the frigate "Hessen" (marineforum reported "Hessen" in the fire - what you can say about it "from the pier"). The further...

The German Navy participates in the NATO activity "Brilliant Vanguard" with the air defence frigate "Hessen" (F 221).

No cause for excitement - not even for the Chinese When a German unit, consisting of the then brand new frigate F 217 "Bayern", the frigate F 207 "Bremen" as well as a supply ship and a tanker, showed a German presence in the waters around China in 1997, the public in Germany took no notice. They were on friendly terms, and the harbour visit in Shanghai deepened the impression. In 2002, the frigates F 209 "Rheinland-Pfalz" and F 218 "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" visited the Chinese harbour of Qingdao, among other places, and crossed the Taiwan Strait on their course. This had no significance; the Chinese PLAN (Peoples Liberation Army Navy), which was still in its infancy, had no reason to antagonise the German Navy. There were visits and invitations, and the then inspector of the navy, Lutz Feld, was also with his unit at times. They travelled through the Taiwan Strait because it is free sea space. Anyone can sail through there, without restriction. Then as now. What did the naval units want in the Indo-Pacific waters? They were on friendly visits to Japan, South Korea and Singapore, among others. An expression of Germany's interest in Asian trading partners, a symbolic presence in the sea areas that are important routes for Germany as a trading nation. In addition, embassies in...