Historical Background
The Treaty of Peking of September 1861 between the kingdom of Prussia and the China allowed Prussian warships to operate in Chinese waters. As the Far East grew in economic and political importance to the recently united Germany, in 1881 a flying squadron was formed for the area under the command of a flag officer. Since African colonies were then seen as of greater value, an African Cruiser Squadron was established in 1885 with permanent status, and shortly thereafter the Imperial German Navy reduced the East Asia presence to two small gunboats. The African Cruiser Squadron itself returned to Germany for deactivation at Kiel in 1893.
Read more about this topic: German East Asia Squadron
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