Elite German Paratroopers, Marines Bound for Australia as Part of Indo-Pacific Focus
by Simon Kent
Germany announced Monday it is sending sending elite troops to Australia as part of joint drills with some 30,000 service members from 12 other nations.
The first-time deployment underlines Berlin’s increased focus on the Indo-Pacific as tensions with China build across the region.
“It is a region of extremely high importance for us in Germany as well as for the European Union due to the economic interdependencies”, Army Chief Alfons Mais told Reuters in an interview published as the first German troops were readying to leave for Australia.
The ground forces follow past deployments by the German Navy and Luftwaffe in the region as well as those planned for the future.
The German Navy will continue to build on past deployments into the Indo/Pacific during 2024, sending a frigate and a combat support ship to the troubled region. https://t.co/38JG7tguP3
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 16, 2023
China is Berlin’s most important trading partner, and 40 percent of Europe’s foreign trade flows through the South China Sea, a waterway that is a focal point for territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific.