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German frigate denied Chinese port call, says Berlin
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German frigate travelling across the Indo-Pacific in a show of support for allies has been denied a request to make a port call in Shanghai, German officials said on Wednesday.
The decision, announced by Beijing after weeks of stalling, deals a blow to German hopes that a Chinese stop could help defuse tensions over the naval mission.
"After a period of reflection, China has decided that it does not want a port visit by the German frigate 'Bayern' and we have taken note of that," German foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told reporters in Berlin.
The "Bayern" set off from Wilhelmshaven on August 2 for a six-month journey to the Indo-Pacific to strengthen German presence in the region, the first such trip in 20 years by the German navy.
Singapore, South Korea and Australia are among the stops along the way.
Crucially, the ship will also pass through the South China Sea, a flashpoint of tensions between China, its neighbors in the region and their western allies such as the United States.
Johannes Peters, head of the Center for Maritime Strategy and Security at the Institute for Security Policy in Kiel, said Germany had made a "huge mistake" by requesting the Chinese port stop far in advance.
The request gave China the leverage to keep Germany waiting and potentially turn the Shanghai visit into "a reward" for perceived good behavior during the mission, he told AFP.
The docking refusal "leaves China as the winner and it's the German government's own fault they are in this situation right now, it was unnecessary to place this request so early".
'Maintain dialogue'
Ahead of the ship's departure last month, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the goal was to show allies in the region that "we are standing up for our values and interest together".
"For our partners in the Indo-Pacific, it is a reality that sea routes are no longer open and secure, and that claims to territory are being applied by the law of might is right," she said.
Yet Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted the mission was not directed against any particular country and noted that Germany's offer to dock at a Chinese harbor was made "to maintain dialogue".
China claims almost all of the resource-rich sea, through which trillions of dollars in shipping trade passes annually, and dismisses competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Germany, a key United States ally, is usually reticent to take a military role on the international stage and has often urged a less confrontational relationship with Beijing.
The ship's mission includes taking part in the European Union's Atalanta antipiracy mission in East Africa and helping to monitor United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
