London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Britain is sending a huge naval force through some of the most tense waters in Asia

The largest naval flotilla assembled by Britain in recent years will set sail in May on a months' long voyage through the Pacific, the country's Defense Ministry said Monday.
"When our Carrier Strike Group (CSG) sets sail next month, it will be flying the flag for Global Britain -- projecting our influence, signaling our power, engaging with our friends and reaffirming our commitment to addressing the security challenges of today and tomorrow," UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Monday.

"The UK is not stepping back but sailing forth to play an active role in shaping the international system of the 21st century," Wallace said.

The strike group will be led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, marking its maiden deployment. The ship, one of the UK's two aircraft carriers, is the largest warship the UK has ever sent to sea.

Joining the carrier will be two destroyers, two anti-submarine frigates, a submarine and two auxiliary supply ships, a ministry statement said.

A United States Navy guided-missile destroyer will sail with the group as well as a frigate from the Netherlands that will be tasked with air defense, the ministry said.

Air power within the group will be centered on RAF F-35B stealth fighters and US Marine Corps F-35Bs, all of which will fly from the deck of the 65,000-ton aircraft carrier.

When a version of this carrier strike group sailed together during military exercises off Scotland last fall, the Defense Ministry said it carried "the largest concentration of fighter jets to operate at sea from a Royal Navy carrier since HMS Hermes in 1983."

It also said it was "the largest air group of fifth generation fighters at sea anywhere in the world." Fifth-generation fighters are the most advanced warplanes in the air.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies says the UK carrier strike group "will be the most capable flotilla deployed by a single European navy in recent years."

"While it will not replicate a US Navy carrier strike group, it will probably be closer to it than anything else that is currently deployable" by any other naval force, the IISS said.

Britain in March released a sweeping review of its military and foreign policy, in which it recognized a tilt toward the Indo-Pacific in the coming decade.

In Monday's carrier strike group announcement, the Defense Ministry said the deployment is aimed toward a deeper UK security role in the region, with exercises planned alongside India, Japan and South Korea as well as US forces in the region.

It will also highlight one of Britain's oldest security relationships, the Five Powers Defense Agreement among Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Exercise Bersama Lima will mark the 50th anniversary of the defense pact, the Defense Ministry said.

As part of the journey to the Pacific, the strike group will visit 40 countries, the UK Defense Ministry said. The voyage, which will see the strike group go through the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean on the way to the Pacific, will cover almost 30,000 miles (48,280 kilometers), the ministry said.

Britain has not released the exact route of the strike group in the Indo-Pacific, but a planned visit to Singapore will put in on the doorstep of the South China Sea and going through the waterway would be the most obvious and direct route to its stops in Japan and South Korea.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory, and it has denounced the presence of foreign warships there as the root of tensions in the region.

When asked in March about the British deployment as well as French military activity in the South China Sea, China's Defense Ministry said Beijing "firmly opposes any country interfering in regional affairs under the pretext of 'freedom of navigation' and damaging the common interests of regional countries."

The UK carrier group is also expected to pass to the east of Taiwan, the self-governed island that China also claims as part of its territory and around which Beijing has been increasing its naval and air deployments in recent months.

In its defense review, the British government called out challenges posed by China.

"China's increasing power and international assertiveness is likely to be the most significant geopolitical factor of the 2020s," the review said, describing Beijing as "the biggest state-based threat to the UK's economic security."

The review said Britain planned to increase its military presence around the world.

Monday's announcement of the scope of the carrier strike group reinforced that.

"The most significant deployment of its kind for a quarter of a century, it is a visible demonstration of the Royal Navy's resurgence after decades of contraction," Commodore Steve Moorhouse, commander of the strike group, said in a statement.

"As our nation redefines its place in the world post-Brexit, it is the natural embodiment of the government's 'Global Britain' agenda. And against a backdrop of growing instability and competition, it reflects the United Kingdom's continued commitment to global security," Moorhouse said.

Japan welcomed the UK's announcement, saying the carrier strike group's visit will elevate the longstanding relationship between Tokyo and London to a "new level."

It also said the deployment demonstrates "the UK commitment and Japan-UK collaboration to uphold and reinforce a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' in the realm of security and defense," according to a statement from Japan's Defense Ministry.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×