Berlin — The German navy’s priorities for 2024 will focus on increasing its presence in the Baltic Sea and Indian Ocean. Speaking at an annual panel event, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack emphasized the need to become more flexible and better able to project power to hotspots near and far. One of the priorities for the year is the German navy’s Indo-Pacific visit this summer, serving Berlin’s diplomatic ambitions in the region. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced two warships will travel to that part of the world in 2024.
A similar German mission took place in 2021 with just one frigate. The navy chief also touted the importance of a new naval facility on Germany’s Baltic coast to strengthen the service’s logistics capabilities. Germany looks to be among the supporters of a planned European Union naval mission to protect shipping routes from Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen. Negotiations for the EU deployment are “progressing well,” according to the German foreign ministry, and a start date has yet to be announced.
