New Delhi, Jan 20 (UNI) Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday welcomed the German Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach to India and held talks on maritime security cooperation with focus on the Indo-Pacific.
The visit of the German Chief of Naval Staff to India comes as the German frigate ‘Bayern’ is set to dock at Mumbai harbor tomorrow.
In a tweet, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said:
“Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla welcomed German Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Schönbach @chiefdeunavy to India.
“Talks focused on maritime security cooperation in context of greater engagement by Germany in the #IndoPacific in line with its recent IndoPacific Guidelines.”
The Brandenburg-class frigate arrives in India after docking at Colombo port in Sri Lanka on January 15.
The FGS Bayern (F217) participated in the ANNUALEX 2021 exercise in November last year, along with Australia, Canada, Japan and the US, in naval drills in the Philippine Sea off the southern coast of Japan.
It was the first time the German Navy was taking part in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force exercise, known as ANNUALEX 2021.
Chief of the German Navy, Vice Adm. Kay-Achim Schönbach had, speaking in Tokyo in November, said the Bayern’s dispatch is to show support for Japan, the US and other partners, and join their efforts in advocating peace, freedom of navigation and a rule-based international order.
The Bayern had travelled through the South China Sea to demonstrate its right to freedom of passage.
The frigate was the first German warship to visit Japan in nearly 20 years.
In a statement in November, the German Naval Chief had reiterated his earlier announcement about a regular German Navy deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
“The German navy will strengthen its commitment to the region through deeper security and defense cooperation with regional partners,” Schönbach said in the statement. “Germany would seek to send a frigate every two years to the Indo-Pacific region with a supply ship.”
UNI/RN