The UK’s largest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth and its strike task group have sailed into the Indian Ocean and will carry out a mega wargame with the Indian Navy as the aircraft carrier began a 40-nation tour aimed at demonstrating Britain’s commitment for an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the deployment of the carrier strike group marks the start of “a new era of defence cooperation with allies in India and the Indo-Pacific.”
“This deployment will provide tangible reassurance and security to the UK’s friends and a credible deterrence to those who seek to undermine global security,” the British high commission said in a statement.
Indian military officials said a series of complex drills will be carried out as part of the wargame that is expected to take place around July 26.
It is HMS Queen Elizabeth’s first operational deployment. The warship has a fleet of F35B stealth fighter jets onboard and is accompanied by six Royal Navy ships, a submarine and 14 naval helicopters.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to make a number of port stops along way – including Oman, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
China’s problems have increased due to this act of Britain. Preparations for this exercise in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea are starting when China wants to rapidly increase its naval strength in this region.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest surface vessel constructed in the UK. Taller than the Niagara Falls, her propellers generate the power of 50 high-speed trains. This aircraft carrier is 280 meters long. Its weight is 65,000-tonne. Despite being so heavy, this aircraft carrier can run at a speed of 59 kilometers per hour. It is fitted with a long range radar, which can detect enemy ships from a distance of 400 km. It is capable of carrying 60+ aircraft including fixed wing, rotary wing and autonomous vehicles. Under the flight deck are a further nine decks. To transfer aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck, the ships have two large lifts, each of which is capable of lifting two F-35-sized aircraft, or one C47 Chinook from the hangar to the flight deck in sixty seconds. It is counted among the deadliest fighter planes in the world.
It is being apprehensive that due to its maneuvers near China, the tension between the two countries may deepen. There are indications that Australia and Canada may also be involved in this exercise. It is to note that China’s relations with these two countries have also reached a low level.
The relationship between UK and China has deteriorated since the Hong Kong national security law was passed by China on 30 June 2020. Apart from this, tensions between both the countries are also at the peak over issues such as suppression of human rights of Uyghur Muslims, interference in South China Sea, China’s attempt to take over Taiwan.
Britain is angry about China’s national security law. China is crushing pro-democracy movement through the National Security Act. It has forcibly imposed this law on Hong Kong. After that, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also pledged to offer three million Hong Kong residents the chance to settle in the UK. That number includes 350,000 people who have British National Overseas passports, and 2.6 million more who are eligible to apply.