BERLIN: 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 in recent weeks, it would be the German navy’s first passage through the strait 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, said 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.
They will also take part in exercises in the region with France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States.
Over the last four years, Beijing’s military has increased its activities in the narrow strait.
Germany, for whom both China and Taiwan, with its huge chip industry, are major trade partners, has joined other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region as their alarm has grown over Beijing’s territorial ambitions.
In 2021, a German warship sailed through the South China Sea, for the first time in almost 20 years.
Last month, the Luftwaffe deployed fighter jets to Japan for the first joint drills there.
Schulz said he was not planning for any specific security measures should the warships under his command cross the Taiwan Strait, calling it a “normal passage” similar to sailing through the English Channel or the North Sea.
However, he anticipated any passage would be closely monitored.
“I expect the Chinese navy and potentially the coast guard or maritime militia to escort us,” he said, describing this as common practice.
German warships await orders on crossing disputed Taiwan Strait
https://arab.news/cvsyp
German warships await orders on crossing disputed Taiwan Strait
- It would be the German navy’s first passage through the strait since 2002
- China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan
Indonesia to send record number of women officers to assist Hajj pilgrims
- Women comprise 33% of Indonesian Hajj officers in 2026
- They will assist the world’s largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Friday concluded a training program for Hajj officers, a group that this year includes a record number of female guides to help Indonesian pilgrims perform the spiritual journey.
The world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia sends the largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims every year, comprising 221,000 people in 2026.
They will be assisted by more than 1,600 Indonesian officers who came from different parts of the country to participate in a 20-day training program in East Jakarta to prepare them for the roles, ahead of the pilgrimage season in May.
“Education and training for Indonesian Hajj officers … are carried out as part of the operational preparations for the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage,” said Puji Raharjo, director general of Hajj management at the ministry, during the closing ceremony on Friday.
“This program is aimed at ensuring the physical, mental, technical and organizational readiness of the officers in order to guide, serve and protect Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.”
Indonesia is sending more than 500 female Hajj officers in 2026 — its largest group of women guides yet.
“This year, women officers comprise about 33 percent, the highest in the history of Hajj management in Indonesia,” Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, the minister of women’s empowerment and child protection, told reporters.
As over 55 percent of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims are women and most of them are elderly, female officers can help ensure that they are treated with more care and empathy, she added.
Fauzi said: “There are many issues that are more suitable to be handled by female officers, things related to women’s issues, assistance inside the room, or emergencies that concern the privacy of the (women) pilgrims.”
The training program, which ran from Jan. 10-30, was aimed at preparing the officers physically and educating them on existing Hajj policies and mechanisms, while also covering operational case studies and lessons on effective communication and Arabic, as well as simulations of real-life situations related to the pilgrimage.
Indonesian Hajj officers will undergo a round of training online in February, before another session is held with reference to their departure locations in Indonesia.
“Every year, Indonesia sends the largest number of pilgrims in the world. This fact demands us to be truly ready and organized with officers who are dependable. Hajj officers fill a strategic role, you represent the state for the pilgrims, (and) you represent the state in front of the world,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf said while addressing this year’s batch of Hajj officers.
“This training and guidance program is therefore very important, as this is where you all prepare in order to understand the extent of your duties, strengthen coordination and come together in unity and discipline for the mission ahead.”
