Britain to deploy two warships in Asian waters
Published: 04:07 PM,Jul 20,2021 | EDITED : 08:07 PM,Jul 20,2021
Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is welcomed by Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo. - AFP
TOKYO: Britain said on Tuesday it would permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters after its Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and escort ships sail to Japan in September through seas where China is vying for influence with the United States and Japan.
Plans for the high-profile visit by the carrier strike group come as London deepens security ties with Tokyo, which has expressed growing alarm in recent months over China's territorial ambitions in the region, including Taiwan.
'Following on from the strike group's inaugural deployment, the United Kingdom will permanently assign two ships in the region from later this year,' Britain's Defence Minister Ben Wallace said in a joint announcement in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart, Nobuo Kishi.
After their arrival in Japan, Kishi said, the Queen Elizabeth and its escort ships would split up for separate port calls to US and Japanese naval bases along the Japanese archipelago.
A close US ally, Japan hosts the biggest concentration of US military forces outside the United States, including ships, aircraft and thousands of marines.
The British carrier, which is carrying F-35B stealth jets on its maiden voyage, will dock at Yokosuka, the home of Japan's fleet command and the USS Ronald Reagan, the only forward deployed US aircraft carrier.
The British ships will not have a permanent base, a spokesperson at the British embassy in Tokyo said when asked which ports the Royal Navy ships would operate from.
The Queen Elizabeth is being escorted by two destroyers, two frigates, two support vessels and ships from the US and the Netherlands.
It will come to Japan through the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by China and South East Asian countries, with stops in India, Singapore and South Korea.
In a further sign of Britain's growing regional engagement, Wallace, who traveled to Japan with a delegation of military commanders, said Britain would also eventually deploy a Littoral Response Group, a unit of marines trained to undertake missions including evacuations and anti-terrorism operations.
Meanwhile, Britain announced on Tuesday its most powerful navy task force in a generation will visit five ports in Japan, warning China against any threats to freedom of navigation in the region's tense seas.
A strike group of Royal Navy ships spearheaded by the giant new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is en route to the Asia-Pacific region.
After exercises with allied navies, it will pay visits to five Japanese ports in September, officials said during a visit by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to Tokyo.
In addition, the offshore patrol vessels HMS Spey and HMS Tamar will start a permanent deployment to the region next month, supported by ships from Australia, Japan and Singapore.
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, angering its regional neighbours and triggering protests further afield including from the US government.
Wallace said Britain had a 'duty' to insist on freedom of navigation when the carrier strike group sails through the sea on its way to Japan.
'It's no secret that China shadows and challenges ships transiting international waters on very legitimate routes,' he told The Times newspaper in Tokyo.
'We will respect China and we hope that China respects us,' he said, stressing: 'We will sail where international law allows.'
Last month, Russia issued strong protests at what it said was a British destroyer's violation of its territory in the Black Sea. - Reuters
Plans for the high-profile visit by the carrier strike group come as London deepens security ties with Tokyo, which has expressed growing alarm in recent months over China's territorial ambitions in the region, including Taiwan.
'Following on from the strike group's inaugural deployment, the United Kingdom will permanently assign two ships in the region from later this year,' Britain's Defence Minister Ben Wallace said in a joint announcement in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart, Nobuo Kishi.
After their arrival in Japan, Kishi said, the Queen Elizabeth and its escort ships would split up for separate port calls to US and Japanese naval bases along the Japanese archipelago.
A close US ally, Japan hosts the biggest concentration of US military forces outside the United States, including ships, aircraft and thousands of marines.
The British carrier, which is carrying F-35B stealth jets on its maiden voyage, will dock at Yokosuka, the home of Japan's fleet command and the USS Ronald Reagan, the only forward deployed US aircraft carrier.
The British ships will not have a permanent base, a spokesperson at the British embassy in Tokyo said when asked which ports the Royal Navy ships would operate from.
The Queen Elizabeth is being escorted by two destroyers, two frigates, two support vessels and ships from the US and the Netherlands.
It will come to Japan through the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by China and South East Asian countries, with stops in India, Singapore and South Korea.
In a further sign of Britain's growing regional engagement, Wallace, who traveled to Japan with a delegation of military commanders, said Britain would also eventually deploy a Littoral Response Group, a unit of marines trained to undertake missions including evacuations and anti-terrorism operations.
Meanwhile, Britain announced on Tuesday its most powerful navy task force in a generation will visit five ports in Japan, warning China against any threats to freedom of navigation in the region's tense seas.
A strike group of Royal Navy ships spearheaded by the giant new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is en route to the Asia-Pacific region.
After exercises with allied navies, it will pay visits to five Japanese ports in September, officials said during a visit by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to Tokyo.
In addition, the offshore patrol vessels HMS Spey and HMS Tamar will start a permanent deployment to the region next month, supported by ships from Australia, Japan and Singapore.
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, angering its regional neighbours and triggering protests further afield including from the US government.
Wallace said Britain had a 'duty' to insist on freedom of navigation when the carrier strike group sails through the sea on its way to Japan.
'It's no secret that China shadows and challenges ships transiting international waters on very legitimate routes,' he told The Times newspaper in Tokyo.
'We will respect China and we hope that China respects us,' he said, stressing: 'We will sail where international law allows.'
Last month, Russia issued strong protests at what it said was a British destroyer's violation of its territory in the Black Sea. - Reuters