At the beginning of 1902 the ship was recalled home and arrived in Hong Kong on 6 January, after which Aspern sailed south to Singapore. Aspern sailed to Penang in the Dutch East Indies and then steamed north to Calcutta, British India, where she arrived on the 27th. She continued on to Colombo, before passing through the Suez Canal at the beginning of March. The cruiser reached home waters on 13 March, stopping first at Lesina before moving to Trieste two days later, and arriving finally in Pola on the 19th. The rest of the year passed uneventfully. From 15 June 1903 to 4 September, Aspern operated with the Summer Squadron as part of II Division. She lay at Fiume from 19 to 24 July before rejoining the squadron in Trieste from 14 to 22 August. The ship was then ordered to return to Chinese waters for another tour abroad.
