Germany's warship to conduct military exercise with India, allies in South China Sea

“Why is Germany sending a frigate through the South China Sea?” Chinese state media and leading newspapers ran headlines on Tuesday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered the German Navy to divert the Brandenburg-class frigate Bayern warship into the South China Sea. It would be the first time in almost two decades that a German combat vessel has set its course for the Indo-Pacific and that the German military will be deployed in the hotly contested South China Sea in a mighty show of military alliance with India, Japan, Australia, UK and the US against People’s Republic of China’s belligerence and expansionist maritime claims. 

France has also waded into the South China Sea with French nuclear attack submarine SNA Emeraude conducting patrols. SNA Emeraude was among two navy warships that sailed into the Pacific. “This extraordinary patrol has just completed a passage in the South China Sea. A striking proof of our French Navy's capacity to deploy far away and for a long time together with our Australian, American and Japanese strategic partners," Defence Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter. 

But the latest to enter the maritime hotbed this past week was the British aircraft carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth that flew into the South China Sea to assist the US Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 for flight deck operations and conduct military exercises with Indian Navy. British Royal Navy's aircraft carrier caught the attention in the disputed South China Sea, sending Beijing's People's Liberation Army Navy on combat readiness. As China monitored HMS Queen Elizabeth’s movement in the disputed waters, it accused Britain of "still living in its colonial days”. 

Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who hailed the military exercise of the Royal Navy and Singaporean navy, reminded China of the so-called "freedom of navigation" exercise through the South China Sea in his remarks earlier last week. France’s SNA Emeraude entered the ‘Indo-Pacific zone’ from the Gulf of Aden to "show that we are still present there militarily", research director at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (Iris) Jean-Vincent Brisset said in a televised statement. France military will be in Indo-Pacific fulfilling “an old promise made by Jean-Yves Le Drian when he was still defence minister,” the expert said. 

As the US Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets, involved in operations off the British Type 45 destroyer, flew above the South China Sea, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) bolstered its military power indicating its sovereignty as military threat escalated despite UK and Germany clarifying that the combat vessels did not enter contested waters for 'military confrontation'. United States Navy posted photos of fighter jets with a caption: "A free and open Indo-Pacific region that is peaceful and stable is vital to ensuring greater prosperity for the region and the world," 

Pentagon spokesperson Ned Price congratulated Britain for its “commitment to an interconnected network of allies and partners, who mutually cooperate and support freedom of navigation and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.”

India's 4 warships to depart for South China Sea

As the German Navy prepared for deployment of its warship into the South China Sea, India announced that it will depart a task force of four warships for a joint military exercise with the German Navy and its Quad partners—United States, Japan and Australia. India's Defence Ministry announced that the Indian military’s warships will depart in one of these days, although no specific date has been revealed by the Indian Defence. The warships will include a guided-missile destroyer, guided-missile frigate, anti-submarine corvette and guided-missile corvette.

The Indian Naval forces will conduct the Malabar 2021 naval exercise with the US, Japanese and Australian military forces over a two-month deployment, India’s Defence Ministry said in a statement. India will also conduct joint military exercises with naval units of South China Sea littoral states Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

"These maritime initiatives enhance synergy and coordination between the Indian Navy and friendly countries, based on common maritime interests and commitment towards Freedom of Navigation at sea," the Indian Defence ministry statement read. 

In its first navy voyage to East Asia since 2002, Berlin is confirmed to conduct a joint military exercise with India as its Brandenburg-class frigate commenced mission on Monday to traverse into the Indo-Pacific region, a flashpoint between China, the US and its allies and partners. China meanwhile threatened should a port call request from a German warship to stop at Shanghai be made, it will not be considered without more information, according to a statement issued by China’s foreign ministry.