South Korea, Germany hold joint naval drills in Yellow Sea

South Korea and Germany conducted joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea on September 6, with a German warship docking at the western port city of Incheon for resupply.

The South Korean frigate ROKS Incheon and the German frigate Baden-Württemberg took part in the drills, focusing on maritime manoeuvres and the exchange of navigational data, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The German warship has been operating in waters near the Korean Peninsula as part of efforts to monitor UN sanctions against North Korea. Additionally, since August 19, two German warships have been awaiting orders from Berlin to determine whether, in September, they will become the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the disputed Taiwan Strait, a move that risks inflaming tensions with Beijing. While the United States and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the disputed strait in recent weeks, this would mark the first passage by the German navy since 2002.

Notably, China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which is democratically governed, and asserts jurisdiction over the nearly 180 kilometres wide waterway that separates the two sides, which is part of the South China Sea. The Taiwan Strait is a vital trade route, with around half of the world’s container ships passing through it. However, Taiwan and the United States maintain that the strait is an international waterway.