The highest-ranking officer in the German military denies that sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait would amount to a provocation by China.
Although the voyage of the Baden-Württemberg frigate has not yet been officially confirmed, it is expected to take place soon after being widely reported in the German media.
The Bundeswehr’s Inspector General, Carsten Breuer, said during a visit to Seoul: “I don’t think we run the risk of provoking China, but rather the other way around. It is precisely this international law that is being called into question by the perception and the issues that China is introducing.”
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as a breakaway province and the waters of the Taiwan Strait as Chinese, not international, waters.
