The Maritime Capital Forum (MHF) invited to the 11th Maritime After Work Club (MAWC) at the British Embassy in Berlin on Thursday, 28 March 2019.
Under the patronage of the German Maritime Institute (DMI), the NATO COE CSW (Center of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters) organised the discussion on the topic "On the way to a new world order. China as a driving force. What we can learn from the developments in the South China Sea and the Arctic".
After the welcome of the participants by the British Defense Attaché, Brigadier General Rob Rider, and the President of the German Maritime Institute, Vice Admiral (retired) Hans-Joachim Stricker, the Director of NATO COE CSW and Commander of DEU Navy Flotilla 1, Rear Admiral Christian Bock, gave a brief feedback on the Munich Security Conference. China's intentions in the Arctic and the South China Sea, and how other states are dealing with them, was one topic amongst others in Munich.
The statements by Dr. Michael Paul, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin, on the developments in the South China Sea, and by Commander DEU NAVY (Reserve) Dipl.-Pol. Jörg-Dietrich Nackmayr, Arctic Affairs Adviser at the NATO COECSW, Kiel, on developments in the Arctic, provided the perfect starting point for an intensive panel discussion and an highly informative exchange of thoughts within the forum. Thomas Wiegold, journalist and blogger from Berlin, knew how to keep up the tension until the end of the event, and how to address the more than 70 guests from the political arena, the scientific community, and the business world.
In Munich as well as in Berlin it became clear that an evaluation and classification of China's official statements and visible actions is a challenge for the Western world. Is China a political / economical partner or rival, or even both at the same time? How is this to be assessed? Which political reactions are appropriate or necessary? These are questions, which will be in the focus increasingly, not only for the political and economic leadership in Germany.
