Vice Adm. Kay-Achim Schonbach, the German Chief of Navy, said that China's naval power is "explosive" and a cause for concern.
China is increasing the size of its navy by the equivalent of the entire French navy every four years, according to Schonbach.
I can understand why the Chinese want a big navy. We want a blue-water navy to be able to make power. A blue-water navy can operate in open oceans and is not limited to near-shore functions.
He said the question was if they fit into the international rules-based order.
The German ship is docked in Singapore. The aircraft carrier arrived in Asia-Pacific as part of a six-month deployment. It is the first deployment of a German ship to the Pacific in almost two decades.
China's naval might has become a source of concern for the United States as well as democracies in Europe and Asia.
According to a recent report on Chinese military power, the U.S. Department of Defense said China is the world's biggest ship-production nation and is nearly self-sufficient in those endeavors. The country is expected to maintain between 65 and 70 submarines by the mid-2020s, as well as the second domestically built aircraft carrier.
The US is concerned about Beijing's moves in the South China Sea. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most critical shipping lanes.
The international community has rejected China's claim that most of the South China Sea is its own territory.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to stop its aggressive actions in the region during his visit to the region last week.
The South China Sea is under greater threat than the rules-based maritime order. The PRC is threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway.
The country issued policy guidelines on the Indo-Pacific region last year, which noted that European and Pacific economies are closely connected through global supply chains. Berlin said in its announcement that if there are conflicts in the region that affect security and stability, this has repercussions for Germany.
The deployment is a sign of German commitment to step up engagement in Asia, including through expanding its security and defense cooperation with regional partners.
He said that they were here for the first time in 19 years. Last year, the government of Germany promulgated the guidelines for the region. The first step is this. I hope we can come on a regular basis for two or three years.
