German Navy in Singapore

Press statement of the Inspector of the Navy on the port call of the IPD unit in Singapore on German Unity Day on 3 October 2024

Interview on the task force provider "Frankfurt am Main" on 3 October 2024. photo: Kelm

The Indo-Pacific unit of the German Navy, consisting of the task force provider "Frankfurt am Main" and the frigate "Baden-Württemberg", are currently on an official visit to Singapore. The visit is by no means routine, as they are visiting friends. There have been numerous contacts for years, both in the context of defence cooperation and between the two navies themselves. During the visit, the inspector of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Jan-C. Kaack gave an interview to the journalist Johannes Hano (ZDF).

"Our entire deployment goes once around the world. 7 months with 2 ships, one ship with the crew on board the whole time, the other ship with a crew change every few months. Basically follows the realisation of the importance of the invulnerability of the sea routes, imagine or remember the failure of the Suez Canal due to the accident of the "Ever Given". That had consequences for months and affected prosperity in Europe. And what is currently happening with the Houthis, which is also tantamount to blocking a sea route, has similar effects," said the inspector. "Secure sea routes are essential for our prosperity and well-being in Europe. And we don't even want to imagine what would happen if the Strait of Malacca were to be disrupted. The second is that many nations, smaller nations and partners in the Indo-Pacific region feel that the international rules-based order is at risk because there are nations that do not abide by them. And we want to make that very clear, that we are in favour of upholding the rules-based international order, and at the end of the day we are doing nothing more than implementing the Indo-Pacific guidelines or guidelines of the federal government and the national security strategy." The Chief of Naval Operations was also extremely positive about the course of the exercises conducted jointly with partners in the East Asian region, and was particularly impressed by RIMPAC with 29 nations.

Inspector Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack and Flotilla Admiral Sean Wat, Commander of the Singapore Navy. Photo: hsc

When asked what the navy could do in the Indo-Pacific, and many Germans would ask what the navy was doing there, Kaack replied: "We can make it very clear what we stand for, and that is extremely important when you are talking to partners. And I have now been able to do this very intensively, also in Japan and here in Singapore. That this is appreciated, that the largest economy in Europe is so committed and makes it clear what we stand for here. Two ships won't change the world, but I think it's extremely important that we set an example here together with our partners." Asked about the association's passage through the Taiwan Strait, Kaack said: "And they will have realised that we didn't announce that we were going through there. Because how did our minister put it? These are international waters and we are travelling through them, just as the Chinese navy entered the Baltic Sea this summer with two ships, incidentally also with a supply ship and a destroyer." When asked how the transit through the Taiwan Strait went and what was seen there, Kaack replied: "I would say nothing unexpected and nothing that we weren't prepared for."

When asked how he saw the future of the Navy in the Indo-Pacific region, Vice Admiral Kaack replied: "We will continue to support the German government's Pacific guidelines and see how we can do this (...). It doesn't always have to be a round-the-world trip, as we have now done for seven months."

Remark:

The interview transmitted as audio was abridged and transcribed.