German Chancellor Mertz departed for a five-day visit to Asia on Monday (October 26). His first stop will be Singapore, and he will then visit Japan and South Korea. Mertz was accompanied by 30 business executives, including representatives of German industry, technology, defense companies and energy suppliers.
At the same time, German President Steinmeier is visiting China.
Both trips, while not officially linked, appear to be aimed at strengthening economic and security ties in Berlin. Currently, geopolitical instability is threatening global supply chains.
In Singapore, Mertz will deliver an important foreign policy speech and meet Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. On Wednesday (October 28), he will travel to Japan to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and attend the Germany-Japan Economic Summit.
Ben Ascione, assistant professor of politics and international relations at Tokyo's Waseda University, said Mertz's visit "will be warmly welcomed in Tokyo."
"For more than a decade, Japan has been seeking to make new security allies and establish closer trade partnerships," he told DW.
"This more aggressive external expansion began under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but the market has largely followed this blueprint due to rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and greater uncertainty brought about by U.S. President Trump's second term," Ascione said.
Tokyo is deeply worried about the challenges posed by an increasingly expanding China in the region, especially as Beijing strengthens ties with Moscow and the unpredictable regime in Pyongyang. China and Russia have held joint military exercises off the coast of Japan, and Beijing has insisted on bringing Taiwan under mainland control.
Ascione pointed out that any conflict arising from the Taiwan issue, disputed islands in the South China Sea or other territorial claims in the region would have a major impact on global trade, and Germany would also be affected.
"Japan and Germany currently face different top security threats: Germany is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Japan is paying close attention to China, North Korea and Russia. But I do think Germany's view of the security threat posed by China has become closer to the market view," Ascione said.
"At a time of such geopolitical uncertainty, Takaichi emphasizes the importance of a rules-based order and a free and open Indo-Pacific policy," he said. "In recent years, Japan has turned to strengthening resilience building, supply chain resilience, and more and deeper security partnerships."
Ascione believes that Japan will also "welcome" Germany's deployment of military forces to the region. In 2021, the German frigate "Bavaria" docked in Tokyo; in 2024, German fighter jets conducted aerial exercises with Japanese fighter jets.
In May 2021, the "Bavaria" became the first German naval warship to dock in Tokyo in 20 years, and subsequently conducted air and sea exercises with Japanese forces. In July 2024, German "Typhoon" fighter jets also conducted aerial exercises with Japanese fighter jets over northern Japan.
Mertz and Takaichi are expected to exchange views on dealing with geopolitical threats.
This will include ensuring supply chain resilience, protecting strategic industries, and ensuring access to key technologies and components, such as rare earths that are critical to a range of advanced technologies but remain largely controlled by China.
Mertz will then visit South Korea, meet with President Lee Jae-myung, and inaugurate the 19th German Economic Asia-Pacific Conference in Seoul. He will also visit the Demilitarized Zone on the border between North and South Korea.
Saeme Kim, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, believes that security issues will once again dominate the talks in Seoul.
However, the German leader is likely to express concern about South Korea's perceived "engagement" with North Korea and, by extension, Russia.
The expert said that despite Kim Jong Un's regime sending troops to the battlefield in Ukraine, South Korea is still trying to establish communication channels with Pyongyang.
"Not just Germany, I think many European countries will be dissatisfied with the Ri Jae-myung administration's attempts to improve relations with North Korea and Russia," Kim Se-mi said.
South Korea continues to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea despite the regime's growing economic ties with China and Russia.
"The government needs to remember that some of these policies will harm South Korea's own interests in the long run," she said.
At the same time, Mertz can also draw on the experience of Germany's reunification in 1990 to provide some insights into how North and South Korea should get along.
"South Korea certainly has experience that it can learn from, but there are many differences between the two," Kim Se-mi said. "North and South Korea are still technically at war, and Seoul also has to deal with a country on the border that is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons."
When Mertz visits the Demilitarized Zone, he will have the opportunity to see North Korea from afar. However, his trip to the border may also be canceled as tensions still linger over a North Korean landmine that wounded three South Korean soldiers last month. Pyongyang accused South Korea of directing and staging the incident.
