FILE - A German naval officer stands on the bridge of the frigate FGS Baden-Wurttemberg, docked in Incheon, South Korea, Sept. 6, 2024. It is one of two German naval vessels en route from South Korea to the Philippines through the South China Sea.

Two ships left the South Korean port city of Incheon on Tuesday bound for Manila, said the South Korean navy. They are expected to pass through the Taiwan Strait, according to Reuters, before the ships dock in Manila.

A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry told VOA on Friday confirming that "the next port of call will be Manila, where the ships will moor September 16."

The spokesperson continued, "In accordance with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, but also for safety reasons, operational details such as the routes of our ships will not be announced in advance."

The navigation across the South China Sea would be the first such passage by German warships since the destroyer Bayern was deployed to the region from August 2021 to February 2022 in an exercise in defense of the freedom of navigation.

That time, the Bayern sailed from South Korea to Singapore but did not pass through the highly sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Rare passage

If a transit is made through the strait this time, it will be the first time that German warships have done so in 22 years.

China claims sovereignty over the islands and, while most countries regard the 177-kilometer-wide strait that separates it from the mainland to be international waters, Beijing opposes transits by military craft from other countries. The U.S. and other countries such as Canada have sent warships through the strait to exercise their rights under international law.

The navigation across the region is part of the Indo-Pacific Deployment (IPD) 2024, a set of multinational naval exercises and international operations that began in May and will last until December.

The German Navy called IPD "the most important" security operation this year in light of Russia's conflict in Ukraine, which has forced Berlin to reprioritize its defense strategies.

Daniel Kochis, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute's Center on Europe and Eurasia, said the significance of the transit "should not be understated" because it would demonstrate "German resolve in defense of freedom of navigation."

Increasing role

Berlin has stepped up its security role in the Indo-Pacific since a NATO summit held in July in Washington, where NATO countries and their Indo-Pacific partners of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea agreed to boost cooperation.

Shortly after the summit, Germany joined the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force in conducting joint aerial drills around Chitose Air Base on the Japanese main island of Hokkaido.