Roundtable Discussion
Germany’s role in the Indo-Pacific
Date: Tuesday, 4 March, 2025
Location: The University Club, The University of Western Australia
Event details
The Perth USAsia Centre hosted a briefing with German MP Volkmar Klein, Chair of the German-Pacific Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Bertil Wenger, Director Regional Programme Australia and the Pacific at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
From participating in regional military exercises to supporting diversified critical minerals and energy supply chains, Germany’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific is deeper than ever.
Volkmar Klein and Bertil Wenger joined us to discuss what Europe’s growing connections to the Indo-Pacific mean for regional security and explore how Germany’s recent national elections will shape its foreign policy.
Guest speakers
Bertil Wenger
Director, Regional Office of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for Australia, New Zealand and the Southern Pacific
Bertil Wenger is the director of the regional office of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for Australia, New Zealand and the Southern Pacific since 2021. He is a lawyer by profession with more than 20-years of experience in policy consulting in the German Bundestag, public affairs companies and the CDU Headquarters in Berlin, where he was Director of International Relations from 2011 – 2021. His fields of experience include international relations and party developments, as well as foreign and security policy.
Volkmar Klein
Member of German Bundestag and Chair of German-Pacific Parliamentary Friendship Group
Volkmar Klein is a German politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009, where he chairs the German-Pacific Friendship Group and the Economic Cooperation and Development Task Force of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group. Before joining the Bundestag, he served in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament (1995–2009) and was previously the mayor of Burbach (1992–1996). Prior to his political career, Klein held roles in business consulting and healthcare management.
Related information
Why does the Australia-China relationship matter?
Navigating Australia’s relationship with China has never been more complex. It remains a vital trading partner and is critical to global supply chains. At the same time, its assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, is fuelling fears of a conflict in Australia’s near neighbourhood. Dr Herscovitch explains why Australia’s relationship with China matters.
What is derisking?
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the problems that can emerge from relying on globalised supply chains when these supply chains are disrupted by international events. For example, in Australia, COVID-related supply chain disruptions reduced the access to medicine because medicine was imported rather than produced domestically.
Similarly, China now dominates supply chains for key minerals that are required to produce everyday products (from microwaves to smartphones and TVs). As China has exploited this dominance and showed its willingness to cut off supplies, Australia and its partners have sought to reduce dependencies on China.
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