TWO ships of the german Navy will visit Manila this month, the frigate Baden-Wurttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main as part of the Indo-Pacific Deployment 2024 (IPD 24).
The visit, said German ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke, is a testament to the enhanced defence cooperation between Germany and the Philippines, and underscores how politically significant the Indo-Pacific region has become for Germany.
The deployment is the German Navy's most important endeavour of defence diplomacy in 2024 and emphasises Germany's global commitment for an international rules-based order.
'It also represents its pledge to ensuring free and secure shipping routes and enhanced maritime security cooperation,' said Mr Pfaffernoschke.
'This pledge was outlined in Germany's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in 2020, which stresses the importance of maintaining free and open sea lanes in the region. It has been reaffirmed in the 2023 German National Security Strategy,' he said.
While in Manila, the German ships will conduct a passing exercise together with the Philippine Navy. All this aims to build and strengthen long-lasting relations between the German and Philippine armed forces.
As German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius put it during his navigating side by side, breathing new life into this promise.
'We want to learn from each other. In September, we will see the German and the Philippine Navy exercise together.'
SeaNews Turkey
The visit, said German ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke, is a testament to the enhanced defence cooperation between Germany and the Philippines, and underscores how politically significant the Indo-Pacific region has become for Germany.
The deployment is the German Navy's most important endeavour of defence diplomacy in 2024 and emphasises Germany's global commitment for an international rules-based order.
'It also represents its pledge to ensuring free and secure shipping routes and enhanced maritime security cooperation,' said Mr Pfaffernoschke.
'This pledge was outlined in Germany's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in 2020, which stresses the importance of maintaining free and open sea lanes in the region. It has been reaffirmed in the 2023 German National Security Strategy,' he said.
While in Manila, the German ships will conduct a passing exercise together with the Philippine Navy. All this aims to build and strengthen long-lasting relations between the German and Philippine armed forces.
As German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius put it during his navigating side by side, breathing new life into this promise.
'We want to learn from each other. In September, we will see the German and the Philippine Navy exercise together.'
SeaNews Turkey
