Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The German warship, Fraget Bayern, sailed into the South China Sea (SCS) Wednesday (15/12/2021). This is the first time in 20 years.
Berlin joins the United States (US) and allies against China’s military presence in the region. China claims 90% of the South China Sea with the concept of the nine-dash line which makes it a dispute with a number of ASEAN countries.
“German warships are scheduled to transit in Singapore in a few days,” said a spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense, quoted by Reuters.
The Bayern frigate will take international routes. But not sailing through the Taiwan Strait, another area of China’s conflict with the West.
Germany is said to want to emphasize the fact that it does not accept China’s territorial claims in the oil and natural gas-rich sea. Other US allies have also done the same thing, namely Britain, France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Previously, the US Energy Information Administration estimated the LCS held about 14 trillion barrels of natural gas and 16 to 33 billion barrels of oil in proven reserves. Most of these natural resources lie along the margins of the SCS, rather than beneath long-disputed islands and reefs.
The Council for Foreign Relations (CFR) states that there are around 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the South China Sea. Another source from the American Security Project stated that gas reserves in the South China Sea reached 266 trillion cubic feet and accounted for 60% – 70% of the territory’s total hydrocarbon reserves.
The US sender is currently on a safari to ASEAN. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently visited Indonesia and is now in Malaysia.
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