German warships await orders on disputed Taiwan Strait

Two German warships await orders from Berlin, their commander said, to determine whether next month they will be the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the disputed Taiwan Strait, at the risk of stoking tensions with Beijing.

While the US and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the disputed strait recently, it would be the German navy's first passage since 2002.

China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180km (110 miles) wide waterway that divides the two sides and is part of the South China Sea.

Taiwan and the United States say the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.

"The decision has not been taken yet," the commander of the naval task group, Rear Admiral Axel Schulz, told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding the weather would play a role.

"We are showing our flag here to demonstrate that we stand by our partners and friends, our commitment to the rules-based order, the peaceful solution of territorial conflicts, and free and secure shipping lanes."

Before their possible passage through the strait next month, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main plan to call in Tokyo on Tuesday. They will also make stops in South Korea and the Philippines.

Reuters