Statement, yes; protest... Well, do we really want to antagonize another nation? Maybe it is their culture to strike out, we need to be tolerant of their rights and claims to Atlantic waters, too!
Besides, I’m sure it’s just an isolated case, not at all sponsored officially by the German Government.
We snicker, but it’s not really all that much of a stretch.
There would certainly be some who would counsel patience and that we shouldn’t assume armed subs massing off our coast was a sign of hostility or anything. Maybe they come in peace. It’d be like that alien invasion movie with some grinning half-wit holding up a “Welcome to Earth” sign who gets zapped with a ray gun from the spaceship. (Independence Day?) I can see the welcome committee forming now.