Britain to permanently deploy two warships in Asia

The United Kingdom said on yesterday it would permanently deploy two of its warships in Asian waters, after its Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and escort ships set 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 growing 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 yesterday.

The British embassy in Tokyo did not immediately respond when asked which ports in the region the Royal Navy ships would operate from.

After their arrival in Japan, Mr Kishi said, the Queen Elizabeth and its escort ships would split up for separate port calls to US and Japanese naval bases all along the Japanese archipelago.

A close US ally, Japan hosts the biggest concentration of US military forces outside the continental 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 Queen Elizabeth is currently being escorted by two destroyers, two frigates, two support vessels and ships from the United States and the Netherlands.

The British carrier will come to Japan through the South China Sea, some parts of which are claimed by China and several South East Asian countries, with scheduled stops in India, Singapore as well as South Korea.

In a further sign of Britain’s growing regional engagement following its exit from the European Union, Mr Wallace, who travelled to Japan with a delegation of military commanders, said the United Kingdom would also eventually deploy a Littoral Response Group, a unit of highly-skilled marines which are trained to undertake missions including evacuations and anti-terrorism operations.