Germany expresses concern over China’s rearmament and appeals to Beijing’s responsibility

Berlin.- The German government expressed its concern this Tuesday regarding China’s rearmament and its military activities in the Indo-Pacific, and appealed to the Asian country’s responsibility regarding peace and stability in the region, while alluding to the test conducted last Monday by the Chinese military with a strategic missile.

“We view with concern that China’s threats and military activities in the region as a whole are increasing,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Josef Hinterseher at a regular press conference in Berlin, in which he stressed that peace and security in the Indo-Pacific are fundamental to the interests of both Germany and Europe.

When referring specifically to China’s successful launch of a strategic missile from a nuclear submarine into Pacific waters, the spokesperson noted that the German government is monitoring the situation very closely.

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Hinterseher appealed to China’s “special responsibility” regarding peace and stability in the region, also as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The ministerial spokesperson underscored their concern regarding China’s “massive and, in part, non-transparent rearmament“.

“We have repeatedly urged China to open itself to international arms control approaches and to engage in the realm of risk reduction, dialogue, and transparency. In our view, those would be important steps in that direction,” he stated.