Germany launches Indo-Pacific strategy with ‘key role’ for India

Germany, current EU president and Europe's biggest economy, has launched its Indo-Pacific strategy with India that is expected to play a key role in Berlin’s outreach in the region where China’s aggressive foreign policy has rattled countries. The strategy released on Wednesday by German Foreign Ministry has several indirect references to Chinese behaviour that challenged rules-based world order. Berlin’s strategy also suggested opening dialogue with institutions where India plays a key role -- Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation and Indian Ocean Rim Associationp -- in the areas of business and maritime safety, as well as disaster risk management. The German government also announced that it will work to maintain rules-based order together with partners in the Indo-Pacific region. To this end, it will cooperate with India and Japan for UN Security reforms. “As an internationally active trading nation and proponent of a rules-based international order, Germany – embedded in the European Union – has a great interest in participating in Asia’s growth dynamics and in being involved in shaping the Indo-Pacific region, as well as in upholding global norms in regional structures,” suggested the strategy outlining Germany’s key principle for the region. The strategy also contains veiled but firm criticism of Chinese actions in the South China Sea and its fallout on global trade in what mirrors India’s position on the issue. “More than 90 percent of the world’s foreign trade is conducted by sea, a large part of which via the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Up to 25 percent of the world’s maritime trade passes through the Strait of Malacca. More than 2000 ships per day transport goods between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea via this bottleneck. A disruption to these maritime trade routes and thus to the supply chains to and from Europe would have serious consequences for the prosperity and supply of our population,” the strategy pointed out. “In the Indo-Pacific region, too, it is not the law of the strong that must prevail, but the strength of the law. This also applies to the shipping routes through the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as a comprehensive maritime regulatory and cooperation framework and the freedoms of navigation enshrined therein are universal. Germany is prepared to promote the enforcement of rules and norms in the region.” Millions of jobs in Germany depend on these trade and investment relations. In view of this great potential, Germany has a vital interest in open markets in the region, according to the strategy. “The federal government firmly believes that rules-based free trade enhances prosperity on both sides.” Berlin stated it supports a substantive and legally binding Code of Conduct between China and the ASEAN membersStates for the South China Sea (SCS) region. It is no secret that Chinese action in the SCS including artificial island building has not only rattled some ASEAN countries but several other countries whose trade passes through the region. Echoing similar views from Delhi on the inclusivity of the Indo-Pacific region, the German government noted, “The Indo-Pacific region can only benefit from peace, security and stability if all countries in the region do their part in equal measure. The federal government supports inclusive regional cooperation initiatives. It does not consider containment and decoupling strategies to be conducive – not least in view of the strong interdependence of national economies and the complexity of global challenges such as climate change, peacekeeping and fragile statehood. The ASEAN-centric security architecture offers a valuable framework for involving key actors.”