The last time there were three German fighter planes over Japan with German soldiers at the controls was in World War II, when the two countries were allied as fascist Axis powers, but never a joint air maneuver. But here, too, there is a turning point: On Wednesday (September 28), the German Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz in a Eurofighter and the Japanese Chief of Staff of the Air Defense Forces, Shunji Izutsu, in a Mitsubishi F-2 near Mount Fuji and practiced a formation of a total of six fighter planes. Both officers sat in the pulpit themselves, giving the encounter a special meaning. 60 German soldiers landed at the Hyakuri air force base northeast of Tokyo.
The next day, the two officers announced they would continue working together on maneuvers Talisman Saber 2023 and Pitch Black 2024 in Australia. “We have shown that we can both secure NATO airspace and move our aircraft to Asia quickly,” said Air Force Inspector Gerhartz. Germany could learn from Japan how to operate the ultra-modern F-35 stealth bombers. Germany is still procuring, Japan is already using the aircraft, said the lieutenant general and air force chief. “Security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inextricably linked,” said his Japanese counterpart Izutsu. Later, the two men jogged with other soldiers to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz with counterpart Shunji Izutsu (r.)
More activities in the Indo-Pacific region
The relocation of German fighter jets from Singapore to Japan was part of the “Rapid Pacific 2022” military exercise. Six German Eurofighters and four transport and tanker aircraft each flew to Singapore in mid-August. These machines then took part in an international 16-nation maneuver in Australia. The formation flight on Mount Fuji was the second German military deployment in Japan after the visit of the frigate “Bayern” to Yokohama in November 2021. Because even under Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany had given itself guidelines for its own Indo-Pacific policy for the first time.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht emphasized in an interview with the newspaper “Japan Times” that Germany wanted to become involved in the Indo-Pacific in the long term. “Military build-up in the region is picking up speed, geopolitical tensions are exacerbating territorial conflicts and the risk of escalation is increasing,” the newspaper quoted Lambrecht as saying. “We are aware that Euro-Atlantic security and security in the Indo-Pacific region are connected to each other.”
(Archive) Frigate “Bayern” in Tokyo in November 2021
However, Germany and Japan classify this step differently. The Japanese side sees this as a reaction to China’s striving for hegemony. “The exercises have shown that Germany is capable of deploying its air force, which can reach its destination faster than ships in the event of a crisis,” Michito Tsuruoka, a professor at Tokyo’s Keio University, told the Nikkei newspaper. “This is a strong strategic message with regard to China.” In Beijing, there seems to be a similar perception: There is concern that the old Axis powers are training together again, the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, wrote last week.
diapers for pilots
But Germany doesn’t want to hear anything about that. “Our mission in Japan is not a signal against anyone,” asserted Air Force Inspector Gerhartz. “We flew unarmed on international routes and did not provoke anyone.” Some analysts view such statements with skepticism. “The German Indo-Pacific strategy is becoming increasingly militarized and does little to defuse the escalation risks in the region,” says security expert Sebastian Maslow from the Shirayuri Women’s University in Sendai.
Arrival of German Eurofighters in Japan
In any case, Germany and Japan are currently under seldom similar pressure to act. Both countries are realigning their security and defense policies – Germany because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan because of China’s increased threat to Taiwan. Both Berlin and Tokyo plan to drastically increase defense spending. At the same time, they want to become more involved internationally. “All of this will be part of the new national security strategies that Berlin and Tokyo will present later this year,” commented expert Maslow. “We will see how the new German-Japanese security cooperation can help to link European, American and Japanese interests in the Indo-Pacific. Only then will it become clear whether this is more than symbolic politics.”
In any case, the military value of deploying German fighter planes to the Far East appears to be rather limited. On the extremely long-haul routes between Germany, Singapore and Japan, pilots apparently have to wear diapers due to the lack of on-board toilets. “The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak,” Chinese military expert Zhang Xuefeng quipped in the Global Times.
