The British Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) aircraft carrier strike group has entered Asia, according to Peking University’s South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness Program (SCS-PI) announced on TwitterSatellite imageIt is shown that the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group appeared on the night of Sunday (July 25) near the Strait of Malacca and is expected to have reached the Pacific and South China Sea regions soon.
The official Twitter of the Queen Elizabeth also posted photos of docking near Singapore on July 26.
The aircraft carrier’s trip to Asia is regarded by the British government as a symbol of “British Going Global”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to restore the British Navy as Europe’s most important naval power and end what he called the past “era of retreat.”
However, in addition to Britain’s attempt to restart its military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region, this trip to the South China Sea, which is a battleground for military strategists, and even the joint exercises with Japan and the United States in this region have also been interpreted by many comments as a sword pointing at China.
Lin Yingyou, a strategy scholar at Chung Cheng University in Taiwan, analyzed to the BBC in Chinese that after Brexit, the United Kingdom needs NATO (NATO) for defense. Therefore, if NATO, dominated by the United Kingdom and the United States, can extend its power to the Pacific Ocean, it will not It can only be a deterrent to China, and the larger target should be aimed at Russia.
The US Navy often enters the disputed waters of the South China Sea for “free navigation.” China refers to the freedom of navigation advocated by the United States as “rampant” freedom. Chinese officials have repeatedly criticized Britain’s plan to send ship carriers to Asia. The official media “Global Times” quoted experts as describing the British action as “showing loyalty to the United States and making a swollen face.”
Free navigation
On May 22, the British Royal Navy “Queen Elizabeth” aircraft carrier set off with the escort of the battleship group. The Royal Navy said that this is the strongest force it has dispatched in recent years.
Professor Steve Tsang of the School of Asian and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London said in an interview with BB Chinese that the British aircraft carrier and strike group sailed to the South China Sea this time, indicating that any vessel in the waters has the right to sail freely.
This is the first trip of the “Queen Elizabeth” aircraft carrier. Through the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and finally reach the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft carrier strike group will also visit Japan in September and dock at the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is expected to return to the United Kingdom at the end of the 28-week trip.
As the UK dispatched its aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific region this time, it added drama to the very sensitive South China Sea dispute.
On the eve of the departure of the aircraft carrier, British Prime Minister Johnson stated that the British “navy fleet is patrolling in Asia to tell China that the United Kingdom believes in the international law of the sea.” “We will adopt a confident attitude and will not provoke active conflicts. Under the circumstances, to resolve the differences between countries.”
Constraining Russia?
Lin Yingyou, who has been studying the Indo-Pacific military for a long time, said that although the outside world is focusing on the diplomatic battle between the British aircraft carrier cruise and China, the larger goal of the British ship’s return to the Asia-Pacific should be aimed at Russia: “Russia has just arrived in China before. The Pacific military exercises represent the extension of Russia’s power in the Pacific. Naturally, the United States also hopes to contain Russia through NATO.”
In a strategic sense, Lin Yingyou added that the biggest impact of the British warship’s return to the Asia-Pacific is that the United States hopes that in the future it is not only the United States that has the right to free navigation, but that other countries can also have the right to international navigation.
Some British media said that the Elizabeth will go to Japan, but will not pass through the Taiwan Strait. Related analysis pointed out that this move is to not stimulate Beijing.
Based on this, Lin Yingyou said that it is of little significance to have passed through the Taiwan Strait. The point is that the UK may station two warships permanently in the Indo-Pacific region in the future. “So, where the ship will stop in the future, and whom to cooperate with, should be more important.”
The composition of the aircraft carrier strike group
The “Queen Elizabeth” strike group that visited Asia also included two Royal Navy frigates, two destroyers, two supply ships and one “Alert-class” submarine, as well as one US Navy destroyer and one Dutch frigate.
The number of American fighters on the aircraft carrier exceeds that of the British: there are 10 F-35 fighters of the US Marine Corps, while the British naval fighters only have 8.