Five German fighter jets made a marathon 24-hour journey from Bavaria to Singapore, landing at Changi Airport on 16 Aug.
It was the first time that Luftwaffe jets were deployed to the Indo-Pacific region, as they embarked on a 10,000km flight within just a day.
The fighter jets were en route to Australia and will make stops in Japan and South Korea besides Singapore.
Source: @NATO_AIRCOM on Twitter
One of them donned a commemorative livery, featuring the flags of Germany, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.
Petra Sigmund, Director General for Asia and the Pacific of Germany’s foreign office, called the deployment the country’s contribution to “rules-based international order”.
The German air force deployment includes the following:
It’ll participate in multinational exercises hosted by the Australian armed forces, dubbed Pitch Black. Allies include France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and regional partners.
Source: @NATO_AIRCOM on Twitter
They’ll also support the Australian navy in Exercise Kakadu and return to Germany in October.
German air force chief Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz said in a news release:
We are sending a clear message: the Air Force can be deployed quickly and over global distances – even with several missions to be fulfilled in parallel.
It’s difficult to ignore the timing of the German fighter jets’ deployment, amid escalating tensions between the US and China.
First, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on 2 Aug, followed by five US lawmakers 12 days later.
China conducted military drills around Taiwan following both visits and condemned the apparent efforts to undermine the ‘One China’ policy.
Germany’s strongly-worded statement on deterrence and defence in the Indo-Pacific region indicates the deployment as a response to China’s “threatening actions”.
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Featured image adapted from @NATO_AIRCOM on Twitter and Karan Vir on Facebook.
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