Germany's role in the Indo-Pacific region

The Federal Government lays down the interests, principles and key priority areas of German policy in the Indo-Pacific region. The new policy guidelines also contribute to a possible overall EUEuropean Union strategy for the region.

Participating in and shaping the Indo-Pacific region

The new policy guidelines provide a strategic framework to the Federal Government’s policy measures in the Indo-Pacific region.

“With the rise of Asia, the political and economic balance is increasingly shifting towards the Indo-Pacific. The region is becoming the key to shaping the international order in the 21st century”,

the Federal Government’s new policy guidelines state. This means that Germany must be prepared for a possible expansion of its security commitment. The Federal Ministry of Defence has therefore played a significant role in the creation of this interministerial effort under the direction of the Federal Foreign Office.

The Defence Ministry considers the area of peace and security, which includes the freedom of navigation, to be of special importance. The Federal Government intends to increase its security engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition to expanding security and defence cooperation with partners in the region, defence contacts in the region are to be intensified, too. This includes, for instance, participation in exercises.

Providing joint impetus for the region

As early as last year, in a keynote speech on security policy held at the Munich Bundeswehr University, Federal Minister of Defence Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer underlined that Germany needed to do more to protect its own interests. The Minister added that allies and partners expected Germany to take the initiative, to provide fresh impetus and present options. With the policy guidelines now adopted, this approach is laid down in the Federal Government’s official doctrine. They contain opportunities and suggestions for expanding cooperation in the region.

As regards the partners in the region, Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer made a case in her speech last year in Munich for increasing Germany’s and its allies’ presence in the Indo-Pacific, because “it is in our interest that existing law be observed”.