Nfter seven months on the high seas, the frigate “Bayern” is due to return to Wilhelmshaven this Friday in hurricane weather. Behind the warship lies an 80,000-kilometer journey to distant Tokyo, which not only had stormy moments in the North Sea. Around two years ago, the federal government decided to intensify international cooperation with the Indo-Pacific region and to do more to promote freedom of the sea lanes. The ship with around 180 sailors on board had left Wilhelmshaven in August last year, when Chancellor Angela Merkel was still in power (CDU).
The ship was to fly the flag on its voyage to Japan, Australia, Singapore and India – in a region concerned about China’s imperial ambitions. To the astonishment of some friendly states, a naval visit was also to take place in China. However, he failed due to a refusal by Beijing. The government there was set up in advance both by the Minister of Defense at the time Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) about the peaceful intentions of the frigate. The leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Rolf Mützenich, initially accused Kramp-Karrenbauer of having a “Wilhelminian worldview” because of the project. Later, Mützenich said it was good “that the Foreign Minister informed the countries in the region about our intentions and our position. You do this carefully and not like Ms. Kramp-Karrenbauer in public speeches that are reminiscent of bad German times.” The CDU politician replied at the time: “It’s good to talk about our values, it’s even better to do something concrete about it do.”