UK's Indo-pacific tilt! UK Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth deployed in Indian Ocean

 

The group will include, on the surface, two Type 45 destroyers, HMS Defender and HMS Diamond; two Type 23 anti-submarine frigates, HMS Kent and HMS Richmond and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring. Also joining the mission will be a Royal Navy Astute-class submarine, fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

 

 

 

 

On board HMS Queen Elizabeth will be eight RAF F-35B Lightning II fast jets, four Wildcat maritime attack helicopters, seven Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine helicopters, and three Merlin Mk4 commando helicopters. The CSG is planning to visit more than 40 countries, from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Sea, and from the Indian Ocean to the Philippine Sea. During this time, it has planned engagements with India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, which clearly indicate UK’s recent tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region.

 

 

 

 

 

According to teh statement of the British High Commission, the CSG “will engage in several joint exercises with the Indian military in the Indian Ocean aiming to broaden the scale of our interoperability and enhancing our capabilities to defend against shared threats and protect our democratic values.” Commenting on the CSG deployment, Wallace reportedly stated to international media that “The U.K. and India are natural defense partners. The deployment is a symbol of Global Britain in action, and powerfully demonstrates our commitment to India, the Indo-Pacific region, and confronting threats to international order.”