German warship docks in Mumbai; envoy stresses on free sea routes

German naval frigate FGS Bayern F217 docked in Mumbai on Friday even as the European countrys Ambassador to India said the IndoPacific region was of utmost importance and emphasised on free maritime routesThe warship whose arrival here indicates strong defence ties between the two nations was welcomed by an Indian Navy band at a ceremonyThe F123 Brandenburg class frigate will dock in Mumbai for a day and also conduct a passing exercise with the Indian Navy officials addedGermanys Ambassador to India Walter Lindner said his country and more and more European nations were convinced that the IndoPacific was one of the most important regions on the planetSixty per cent of international trade goes through the Strait of Malacca and through the area 50 per cent of the worlds population lives here 50 per cent of the worlds GDP comes from this area and three of the biggest economies the US China and Japan are placed around this Pacific the envoy notedldquoBut on the other side we have regional tensions We have at least three nuclear powers here So it is important you have free maritime shipping routes and on the other side you have a peaceful area with stability the stability where conflicts are solved with mutual understanding Thats the message of our guidelines which we brought out a year agordquo Lindner told PTIldquoThis ships visit shows that we are not just talkingrdquo he addedThe Indian Ocean Region has been witnessing increasing Chinese assertiveness especially in the South China Sea In 2020 Germany unveiled its policy guidelines on the IndoPacificVice Admiral KayAchim Schoumlnbach the chief of the German Navy is currently in New Delhi for highlevel consultations with senior Indian officialsReferring to Schoumlnbachs visit to Delhi the envoy said ldquoWe have our head of Navy here Yesterday he was seeing his counterpart They had a close exchange with the foreign secretary and military authorities This shows our highest Navy officer speaks to your highest Navy officer while the frigate is here in Mumbai This is not by chance that it is happening at the same timerdquoBayerns visit to Mumbai marks the last stop of the frigates deployment in the IndoPacific region where it has been since August last year on a patrol and training mission during which it has made port calls in various countries the German embassy saidAnother important part of the vessels mandate was to provide support to international maritime security missions like Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlanta in the Arabian SeaThe ship helped enforce the UN administered arms embargo against Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea prior to its journey through the South China Sea It also participated in joint naval exercises with partners such as India Australia and Japan the embassy addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever