In a move that promises to rile China, Germany has officially joined the “Indo-Pacific” geopolitical club as outlined in a new 40-page policy guideline. The document makes Germany the second European nation, along with France, to adopt a formal strategy for the region.
Though falling short of taking sides in Donald Trump’s new Cold War against China, Germany is now clearly asserting its interests in East Asia with greater openness and vigor, judging by the German language document.
The guideline, released on September 2, says Germany seeks to “promote a European Indo-Pacific strategy” where it makes “an active contribution to shaping the international order in the Indo-Pacific.”
In a thinly-veiled criticism of China’s coercive diplomacy in the region, Germany’s policy emphasizes the importance of “avoid[ing] unilateral dependencies by diversifying partnerships.”
The European powerhouse also underscored how it “wants to work more intensively with the countries of the region, be it to strengthen the rule of law and human rights” and that the “security-policy sector plays a special role in this context.”