A lot seemed to be going well between Kiel and Qingdao. The Chinese metropolis of eight million even proposed an official town twinning. But then world politics intervened.
The “Elbe” is right behind the Kiel-Wik sports harbour, where the sailing boats sway. Not the river, but the Navy supply ship of the same name, 100 meters long, class 404, identification A511. Signs on the fence of the barracks warn against unauthorized entry: “Caution, use firearms!” Further down on the Kiel Fjord you can also marvel at the submarine “Dragon” at the beginning of August: According to the local newspaper, “the most secret submarine in the Kiel shipyard” was only released from the shipyard a few days earlier and is to be delivered to Israel soon .
Maritime war equipment is just as common a sight in the Kiel Fjord as the sailing boats. This is exactly why what was actually a harmless local political matter recently became a hotly debated political issue. It is an affair that has made waves from the Baltic Sea to the Yellow Sea because it is about municipal foreign relations, but at the same time it is about the really big questions of global foreign policy.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
