German defence minister urges strong US presence in Indo-Pacific amid China concerns

Germany’s defence chief has called on the US to honour its security commitments to the Indo-Pacific and signalled that Berlin will keep raising its military presence in the region.During his visit to Australia this week, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius shared concerns about “dangerous activities” in the China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea and sounded an alarm over Beijing’s “close” monitoring of Washington and its allies’ management of the Iran and Ukraine conflicts.“To me, one thing is crystal clear. Without a strong US presence, the Indo-Pacific would be less safe for us and for our allies,” he said in a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday.Xi, Merz vow to strengthen Sino-German tiesXi, Merz vow to strengthen Sino-German tiesPistorius also said that “a truly comprehensive European security approach must comprise Indo-Pacific security as well”.“Germany will send a maritime patrol aircraft and parts of a sea battalion to the Indo-Pacific in 2027 and 2028,” he said.Pistorius said his country would again take part this year in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Rimpac), the world’s largest biennial international maritime war games.And Germany will send nine Eurofighters to take part in the Pitch Black 2026 exercise in Australia, which is scheduled for July 20 to August 7.