A German Navy frigate left on Tuesday, January 6 to join NATO forces monitoring strategic waters in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, as well as in the North Atlantic, amid rising tensions between the US and Denmark over control of Greenland, according to dpa.
Frigate Sachsen joins NATO forces in the North Sea, PHOTO FB Die Bundeswehr in Sachsen
The frigate Sachsen left the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven on Tuesday afternoon with about 250 soldiers on board, a navy spokeswoman said, reports the foreign agency, cited by Agerpres.
The ship is to join NATO's Permanent Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1), a maritime task force made up of several destroyers and frigates deployed by various NATO allies, as well as a supply ship.
“Sachsen's primary mission within SNMG 1 will be to monitor and protect strategic sea routes and critical infrastructure in the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea”stated the commander of the navy, Wolfgang Eckmuller, in a statement.
The frigate set out in the context of rising tensions related to new US threats regarding the annexation of Greenland, a largely autonomous territory in the North Atlantic and the largest island in the world, part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Greenland belongs to its people”
Denmark firmly rejects these claims and on Tuesday received the support of seven European leaders who expressed their solidarity with Greenland.
“Greenland belongs to its people. It is the business of Denmark and Greenland, and theirs alone, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland”it is stated in the statement signed by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Great Britain and Denmark.
Last weekend, Trump once again argued that the US needs Greenland for national security reasons, citing an increased presence of Chinese and Russian ships in the region.
The German frigate deployed on Tuesday is 143 meters long and is equipped with a special radar that can monitor an airspace the size of the entire North Sea, according to the German armed forces. The ship is also equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and, in addition to regular troops, it carries members of a naval air squadron and a group of dentists.
The German ship replaces the Hamburg frigate in the NATO fleet, which returned to Germany shortly before Christmas after a period of about six months at sea, and is scheduled to return to its home port in mid-July.
