Overview

• In Jakarta, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned that Chinese military activity in the South China Sea and around Taiwan undermines the rules-based order and threatens European interests.
• Beijing formally cautioned Germany against inciting confrontation after Berlin criticized what it called increasingly aggressive actions by China.
• At Japan’s Yokosuka naval base, Wadephul said borders must not be changed by force and described Japan as Germany’s premium partner for stepped-up security cooperation.
• Germany and Japan are expanding practical cooperation, including intelligence sharing under a 2021 pact, German warship visits, and Eurofighter deployments to Japanese bases for exercises.
• German personnel are currently stationed at Yokosuka in an international mission enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea, and Wadephul linked Indo-Pacific security to Russia’s war in Ukraine through Chinese economic support and North Korean aid to Moscow.