Germany navy frigate makes first visit to Vietnam
The frigate FGS Bayern carrying over 200 crew members of the German navy docked at Nha Rong Wharf in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of January 6, marking its first-ever friendship visit to the nation.
During the four-day voyage, Commander Tilo Kalski is set to make courtesy calls to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and Naval Region 2 of Vietnam.
As part of his address at the welcome ceremony held for the ship, German Ambassador to Vietnam Guido Hildner said the frigate’s visit is a display of both nations’ friendship, as well as the Indo-Pacific region’s increasing significance to international relations.
The trip will also contribute to expressing Germany’s desire to step up co-operation with important partners and affirm the rules-based international order, especially the legal value of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an important legal document on seas and oceans.
FGS Bayern initially departed the German port of Wilhelm for the Indo-Pacific region on August 2, 2021. Before Vietnam, it stopped off at the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Australia, Guam, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. Sri Lanka and India will be its next destinations on the vessel’s way back to Germany.
