The Merlin helicopter landed on the Queen Elizabeth. (Image source: British Ministry of Defence/CC BY 2.0)
[Look at China News on July 28, 2021](Look at Chinese reporter Cheng Rong’s compilation) UKQueen ElizabethThe aircraft carrier and her carrier strike group have enteredSouth China Sea, China claims sovereignty over the region. The aircraft carrier and its escort were in Singapore before entering the South China Sea.
According to a report by the UK Defence Journal on July 27, China claims that 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea is almost its sovereign territory, and it condemns the presence of foreign warships there as a source of tension in the region.
China stated that its claim to the sea area is based on the “Convention on the Law of the Sea” and its so-called “nine-dash line.” This line extends 2,000 kilometers from mainland China and covers more than half of the sea. However, in a historic decision in 2016, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that some of China’s claims in the waters were invalid. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia frequently conduct free-of-navigation operations (or FONOPs) to challenge Washington’s so-called “coastal countries’ attempts to illegally restrict access to sea.”
Both the United States and the United Kingdom have angered China in the past by conducting free navigation operations in the South China Sea to protect the right to freedom of navigation.
Earlier this month, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (Dominic Raab), after discussing the issue of a British warship sailing through Russia’s claimed Ukrainian territory, told MPs, “We are absolutely right to exercise and defend our rights. This is true from Ukrainian territorial waters to the South China Sea.”
On the 26th, the ships of the British Aircraft Carrier Strike Group conducted an exercise with the Navy of the Republic of Singapore.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, “This exercise is to promote interoperability and coordination between the two navies, and is built on the deep and long-term defense partnership between the United Kingdom and Singapore. This is also the fifth Royal Navy’s For the first time, the ships of the surrogate aircraft carrier strike group exercised with the Singapore Navy.”
According to the Ministry of Defense, 8 ships participated in the exercise on the 26th: the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier; the HMS Kent and the 23-type anti-submarine frigate; the HNLMS Evertsen and the seven provincial frigates (the Netherlands). Royal Navy); USS The Sullivans (USS The Sullivans), Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers (US Navy); RFA Tidespring, fast fleet tankers; RSS Dreadnought-class frigate (Navy of the Republic of Singapore); RSS Unity Independent-class littoral mission ship (Navy of the Republic of Singapore), RSS Resolution Endurance-class landing ship tank (Navy of the Republic of Singapore).
What happened the last time a British ship sailed through the South China Sea?
In 2018, the assault ship HMS Albion was challenged by a Chinese frigate and two helicopters during a freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea. Local media reported that both sides remained calm during the encounter. Despite China’s protests, the Royal Navy’s assault ships continued to sail.
A brilliant and busy time, we have now passed through the Strait of Malacca.
We sailed with ships of the Royal Malaysian Navy ???????? @tldm_rasmi and with the Republic of Singapore Navy ???????? @mindefsg and got some great team photos! ???? ⚓@UKinMalaysia @UKinSingapore # CSG21 pic.twitter.com/19D2TTMysb
— HMS Queen Elizabeth???????? (@HMSQNLZ) July 27, 2021
What is the British aircraft carrier strike group doing?
The Queen Elizabeth is the deployment flagship of the 21st Aircraft Carrier Attack Group (CSG21). This deployment will see the ship and her convoy sailing to the Asia-Pacific region and returning. The aircraft carrier strike group includes ships from the U.S. Navy, the Dutch Navy and the Marines of the U.S. Marines, as well as aviation assets from the Royal Air Force’s 617th Squadron, 820 Naval Air Squadron, 815 Naval Air Squadron, and 845 Naval Air Squadron.
The Royal Navy said that the British aircraft carrier strike group will visit more than one-fifth of the countries in the world. Under the leadership of the Queen Elizabeth, the strike group will visit 40 countries, including India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, with a deployment range of 26,000 nautical miles.
“In the Pacific, ships from the aircraft carrier strike group will participate in the Bersama Lima exercise to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the five-nation joint defense agreement between Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Diamonds will also be deployed for the first time with the Queen Elizabeth. The destroyers and the Guards; the HMS Richmond and the Kent frigates; an Astuart-class submarine supports under the sea; and the Royal Fleet auxiliary support ships RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tide .
“More than 30 aircraft will also appear in the entire task force, including F-35 jets from the 617 Dan Bast Flying Squadron and the 211th Naval Fighter Strike Squadron; Wildcat helicopters from the 815 Naval Air Squadron, and Merlin helicopters of the 820 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons. The Royal Marines from the 42nd Commando will also be deployed with the aircraft carrier. The Dutch frigate Everson and the American Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer Sullivan are also part of the strike group. ”
The Queen Elizabeth and her carrier strike group will also conduct anti-submarine exercises in the Pacific.
A little timelapse from a big VERTREP! ????
Stores are for storing, the Loggies loved it! They got 65 pallets, roughly 25 tonnes of food, spares and mail.????✉️????
Thanks to wider # CSG21 teams for supporting @RFATidespring @1700NAS @ 845NAS @ 820NAS @RFAHeadquarters pic.twitter.com/DIDZTPwpar
— HMS Queen Elizabeth???????? (@HMSQNLZ) July 28, 2021
Source: Look at China
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