Foreign Minister Penny Wong has moved to deepen Australia\u2019s security partnership with Germany as tensions escalate in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, warning that global conflicts are increasingly interconnected.<\/p>\n
Speaking alongside German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Berlin ahead of the first Australia-Germany foreign and defence ministers\u2019 meeting since 2021, Senator Wong said security challenges in Europe and Asia could no longer be viewed in isolation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security is inseparable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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By continuing you agree to our Terms<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The comments come as conflict in the Middle East threatens global energy supplies and as concerns continue to grow over security in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n A key focus of the talks was the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route through which about a fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply passes.<\/p>\n Recent tensions involving Iran have raised fears of further disruption, with both nations stressing the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and protecting global supply chains.<\/p>\n \u201cThe closure is having on all of our peoples, and on our economies, and on the global economy,\u201d Senator Wong said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will work with Germany and others in support of efforts to reopen the Strait and to restore navigational rights and freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Wadephul said maritime security was now a shared priority for both countries, describing free sea lanes as indispensable for economic security and prosperity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want and need partners such as Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The meeting also highlighted growing defence cooperation between Canberra and Berlin, with Germany set to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific through military exercises including Australia\u2019s Pitch Black air combat exercise.<\/p>\n The German Foreign Minister described Australia as one of Germany\u2019s closest strategic partners and said the relationship had become increasingly important amid a rapidly changing global security environment.<\/p>\n Support for Ukraine also featured prominently in discussions, with Mr Wadephul thanking Australia for its military and financial assistance since Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n Beyond defence, the talks focused on strengthening economic resilience and reducing dependence on vulnerable supply chains. Both countries pointed to growing cooperation on critical minerals, rare earths and lithium as Europe seeks to diversify away from strategic dependencies.<\/p>\n Senator Wong said the partnership reflected a broader effort by middle powers to work together in defence of international rules and institutions.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a rapidly changing, increasingly contested world, this is the work that matters,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the work that matters most, strengthening and diversifying our relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Foreign Minister Penny Wong has moved to deepen Australia\u2019s security partnership with Germany as tensions escalate in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,12241,44,84,1720],"class_list":["post-723911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}