For the first time, the German air force is taking part in multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific zone. An approach that reflects Berlin’s desire to be more present in this region in the face of a negatively perceived Chinese presence.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibault
“ This is not a signal to China at all. ”: the chief of staff of the German air force wanted to dissociate the participation of the Eurofighters of the Bundeswehr in the Indo-Pacific zone – a first – from the current tensions between China and Taiwan.
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Nevertheless: as with the dispatch of a frigate to the region last year, the participation of German fighter planes in multinational exercises in Australia, before short stops in Japan and South Korea on the autumn, underlines Berlin’s desire to be present in a region where Chinese ambitions are perceived as a threat.
“ This is the largest and most ambitious deployment ever undertaken by the Air Force “, underlined the Bundeswehr, which also wants to prove that it can intervene in different theaters despite the current war in Ukraine.
The six Eurofighters mobilize 250 soldiers. The fighter jets are accompanied by four A400M military transport planes and three A330s for in-flight refueling.
Cooperation with the Bundeswehr in the region seems to be of interest. Requests were made in Berlin by India, Indonesia and Malaysia for joint military exercises.
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