Britain to deploy two warships in East Asia permanently

Britain will be deploying two warships in East Asian water permanently. The deployment would likely happen after September when its aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth and escort ships sail to Japan through the South and East China Seas. China is engaged in a duel for influence with the United States and Japan in the South and East China Seas.

The high-profile visit by the carrier strike group comes as London deepens security ties with Tokyo. Japan 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 Defense Minister Ben Wallace said in a joint announcement in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart, Nobuo Kishi.

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, Kishi said, the Queen Elizabeth and its escort ships would split up for separate port calls to U.S. and Japanese naval bases along the Japanese archipelago. Japan hosts the biggest concentration of U.S. 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 U.S. aircraft carrier.

The Queen Elizabeth is being escorted by two destroyers, two frigates, two support vessels and ships from the United States 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.

It will be joined by vessels from the United States and a frigate from the Netherlands and will carry out exercises with forces from Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, the UAE, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel, India, Oman and South Korea, the British government said in a news release.

The British warships will be joined by other foreign ships currently in Asian waters which include a French amphibious carrier and two U.S. navy aircraft carriers, one of which, the USS Ronald Reagan, is based in Japan. The latest, and so far most conspicuous, visit to Japan by British forces follows earlier deployment of warships, jet fighters and troops for joint training exercises as London and Tokyo look to strengthen defense ties.