Category: Security policy

Sea sick

Sea sick

Gepostet von | 12 Dec 2022 | , , , , | 0

Only a few countries have hospital ships, despite the great advantages. A possibility for Germany? The Helgoland's deployment in Vietnam ended 50 years ago. From 1966 to 1972, as a hospital ship in the Vietnam War, it was the German response to the American request for military assistance. The German government had the seaside resort ship converted into a hospital ship with 150 hospital beds. The German Red Cross took over the sponsorship. The Helgoland's first mission took it to Saigon, after which it was transferred to Da Nang in the north. At that time, the important US Army base with its 350,000 inhabitants had just 500 hospital beds...

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Moscow's gateway to the Pacific

Moscow's gateway to the Pacific

Gepostet von | 8 Dec 2022 | , , , , | 0

Russia and Japan have been at odds over the Kuril Islands for decades. After the latest developments, is the archipelago a strategic challenge for Moscow? Located between the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, the Kuril island chain forms a gateway out into the Pacific and into the Sea of Okhotsk, the backyard of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Shortly before the end of the Second World War in the Pacific, the Soviet Union completely occupied the island chain in September 1945. While Russia's claim to sovereignty over the northern islands of the Kuril Islands is undisputed, Japan claims the four southernmost islands for itself and justifies this with historical...

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Full steam ahead into retirement

Full steam ahead into retirement

Gepostet von | 7 Dec 2022 | , , , | 0

In her last two years of service, the frigate LÜBECK performed remarkably well. The men and women on board accepted considerable restrictions in order to take part in the NATO support mission. In January 2022, the frigate LÜBECK departed for the border area between Greece and Turkey as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) to participate in the NATO Assistance Aegean (NAA) mission in the Aegean Sea, having already been deployed from May to September of the previous year. Since then, it has contributed to situational awareness and the exchange of information in dealing with the migration crisis. Overall, the LÜBECK was in the...

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Arms exports must bear the label "European" to a greater extent

Arms exports must bear the label "European" to a greater extent

Gepostet von | 6 Dec 2022 | , , , | 0

When sirens wail in Kiev these days, people not only fear for their families and loved ones in the bunkers. They also hope that the air defence system will intercept the Russian war terror attacks against their city. For this to succeed, Ukraine is dependent on the support of its international partners. An arms alliance has been forged to stand up to the Russian invasion. Within this alliance, the German government must take on the task of organising arms deliveries in such a way that Germany acts as a reliable European partner. An arms export control law, which has been agreed in the coalition agreement, must create the legal framework for this, among other things. A few weeks ago, the...

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Business vs. security

Business vs. security

Gepostet von | 5 Dec 2022 | , , , | 0

Chancellor Scholz has got his way: a Chinese state-owned company may acquire a stake in Germany's critical maritime infrastructure. Is the economic opportunity worth the risk of exerting influence? Contrary to the reservations of all six ministries involved, above all the lead ministry for economic affairs and the Foreign Office, as well as warnings from Brussels and the secret services, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to allow the port subsidiary of the Chinese maritime state-owned group Cosco to retain a stake in the Tollerort container terminal of the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA - a "word of power" from the Chancellor using his authority to issue directives. Between HHLA and Cosco Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL), the participation in the Container Terminal Tollerort was...

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