Berlin's Asia Push: Merz and Steinmeier Split Trips to Secure Supply Chains
The German Chancellor visits Singapore, Japan, and South Korea while the President heads to China, a coordinated effort to bolster economic and security ties amid regional instability.
By Layla Richardson ·
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz began a five-day tour of Asia on Monday, starting in Singapore.
His delegation includes 30 senior business leaders from the industry, technology, defense, and energy sectors. Simultaneously, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is visiting China. Although the two trips are not officially linked, both aim to strengthen Berlin's economic and security position during a period of geopolitical instability that threatens global supply chains.
In Singapore, Merz is scheduled to deliver a foreign policy speech and meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. On Wednesday, he will travel to Japan to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and participate in the German-Japanese Business Summit. Ben Ascione, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at Waseda University in Tokyo, said the visit is well received in Tokyo. He noted that Japan has sought new security allies and trade partners for over a decade, a strategy initiated under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and continued by Takaichi due to rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific and uncertainty regarding the second administration of US President Donald Trump.
Japan and Germany face distinct but connected threats. Tokyo is concerned by China's expansionist stance, particularly as Beijing deepens ties with Russia and North Korea. China and Russia have held joint military exercises off the Japanese coast, and Beijing maintains that Taiwan should be under mainland control. Ascione stated that any conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea would disrupt global trade and impact Germany. He added that Germany is aligning with Tokyo's view of the threat posed by China, emphasizing a rules-based order and supply chain resilience.
Japan also welcomes the deployment of German military assets to the region. This follows the docking of the frigate Bayern in Tokyo in May 2021, the first German Navy warship to visit in 20 years, and air drills between German Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and Japanese fighters in northern Japan in July 2024. Merz and Takaichi are expected to discuss supply chain resilience, protection of strategic industries, and access to critical technologies and components, such as rare earths largely controlled by China.
Merz will then visit South Korea to meet President Lee Jae-myung and open the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul. He is also scheduled to visit the Demilitarized Zone bordering North Korea. Saeme Kim, a research fellow at The Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said security will dominate discussions in Seoul. She noted that European nations may be irritated by South Korea's outreach toward North Korea and Russia, citing recent discussions about petroleum exports to Russia that Seoul says do not breach sanctions. Kim said many European countries are concerned about the Lee administration's efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang, especially after North Korea sent troops to Ukraine.
Merz may draw on Germany's 1990 reunification to offer insights to the two Koreas, though Kim noted significant differences, including the technical state of war and North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The DMZ visit could be canceled due to tensions over a mine incident last month that injured three South Korean soldiers, an event Pyongyang claims was staged by the South.
