China’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait threaten international security and European interests, Germany’s top diplomat said on Wednesday.
“What happens here in the Indo-Pacific has a direct impact on European security and vice versa,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a speech in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, using an alternative description for the Asia-Pacific region.
“China’s growing military assertiveness in the South China Sea not only threatens Asia’s security, but also undermines the international rules-based order,” he said after talks with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.
“With essential trade routes running right through this area, it also constitutes an economic risk,” he added.
[…]