DSEI Japan 2025: Germany and Malaysia Highlight Shifting Security Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific

The opening day of DSEI Japan 2025 featured a blend of optimism and caution as key speakers addressed the growing complexity of Indo-Pacific security. Germany laid out plans to deepen defence cooperation with Japan, marking a significant shift in its engagement with the region. Meanwhile, a Malaysian strategic expert expressed concern that intensifying geopolitical rivalries among major powers are undermining regional mechanisms for peace and stability.

Representing Germany at the event, Ambassador Petra Sigmund described a clear departure from Berlin’s traditionally reserved approach toward the Indo-Pacific. Recent years have seen Germany recalibrate its security and defence posture, with the ambassador highlighting a broadening of engagement in both political and economic dimensions. Central to this shift is a desire to forge a closer defence partnership with Japan.

Germany now views Japan not only as a trusted arms provider but also as a co-development partner with shared industrial capabilities and operational requirements. The two nations are exploring collaboration in a range of advanced defence areas, including unmanned systems, drone technologies, standoff weaponry, missile development, air defence, cyber capabilities, and maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. German officials see such partnerships as vital to scaling up production capacity, accelerating development timelines, and achieving cost efficiencies—both for European and Indo-Pacific theatres.

This strategic alignment has emerged alongside Germany’s growing military presence in the region. Since 2021, the Bundeswehr has expanded its participation in multinational naval and air force exercises, partnering with countries such as Japan, Australia, and India. These deployments have included naval frigates and air assets, with the most recent mission in 2024 reinforcing Berlin’s message that it has enduring interests in the Indo-Pacific. While Germany does not possess territorial holdings in the region—unlike countries such as the United Kingdom or Australia—its actions are intended to demonstrate meaningful engagement based on shared values and mutual interests.

Ambassador Sigmund emphasised that what might appear to be incremental steps from a global perspective represent significant shifts for German security policy. Germany’s increasing activity is framed not as symbolic or episodic, but as a deliberate and strategic contribution to regional stability and the maintenance of a rules-based international order. This approach mirrors broader European efforts to play a more active role in shaping Indo-Pacific security dynamics.

However, not all speakers at DSEI Japan 2025 shared the same tone of strategic optimism. In a separate session, Datuk Professor Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah, Chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies of Malaysia, raised concerns that great power rivalries are starting to destabilise existing security frameworks in Asia.

Citing a recent ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) event, he noted that major powers had boycotted one of its expert group sessions due to disagreements over the inclusion of Russia in the discussions. This incident, he argued, was emblematic of how geopolitical tensions are spilling into multilateral platforms that have historically served as venues for constructive dialogue and regional consensus-building.

He also pointed to a growing trend of major powers forming “mini-lateral” security groupings that operate outside of established frameworks. While these arrangements are often justified as contributing to global governance, he suggested that they are, in effect, tools of strategic containment. Such developments, he warned, are exacerbating tensions rather than diffusing them, and are contributing to a fragmented security environment.

For ASEAN and other countries in the region, managing these rivalries has become increasingly difficult. As different states align themselves with competing powers, the space for neutral or balanced diplomacy has narrowed. According to Dr Abdullah, this creates a “zero-sum” dynamic where efforts to maintain regional autonomy and stability are constrained by external pressures and conflicting agendas.

He concluded by offering a sobering assessment of the broader international environment, describing it as one entering a phase of unfettered competition. In his view, global affairs are becoming more combative, with multiple actors pursuing aggressive strategies that risk triggering conflict rather than cooperation. The Indo-Pacific, long regarded as a space for economic growth and regional collaboration, is at risk of becoming a primary theatre in this new geopolitical contest.

The two sessions underscored both the opportunities and risks currently shaping Indo-Pacific security. Germany’s renewed engagement, particularly with Japan, signals a willingness among European actors to contribute more substantively to regional stability. At the same time, the concerns voiced by Malaysia reflect a growing unease that the region is being pulled into the orbit of great power rivalries that threaten to undermine long-standing mechanisms for dialogue and peaceful resolution.

As the DSEI Japan 2025 conference continues, these themes are likely to persist—highlighting the delicate balance between fostering strategic partnerships and safeguarding regional autonomy amid a shifting global order.