Royal Navy Takes on China: Aircraft Carrier Will Lead Strike Group to Indo-Pacific to Counter Growing Threat of Aggression from Beijing

The Royal Navy will increase patrols in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s increasingly expansive agenda in the region.

HMS Prince of Wales will lead the Carrier Strike Group 2025 expedition in a bid to deter aggressive moves by Beijing, which has seen its military build military bases on previously uninhabited archipelagos.

The aircraft carrier, Britain’s largest warship, has been conducting preliminary exercises with her American counterpart, the USS Harry S Truman, in the North Sea in recent days as part of the British-led Exercise Strike Warrior.

Speaking to Commonwealth leaders in Samoa last night, Sir Keir Starmer vowed he would ‘not turn a blind eye to the challenges facing our friends and partners on the other side of the world’.

“My message today is clear: this is just the beginning of our commitment to the Indo-Pacific,” he added.

The CSG 25 mission was unveiled in 2023 by then Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to complement the two patrol vessels Britain currently has in the area: HMS Spey and HMS Tamar.

During the mission, HMS Prince of Wales will be accompanied by Norwegian and Japanese ships.

But with a minimum crew of 700, which could grow to 1,600 depending on the number of fighter jets and helicopters she carries, HMS Prince of Wales will dwarf the other ships involved in the operation.

She was joined by other NATO allies, such as Finland and Belgium, during the training last month.

The aircraft took off 71 times from the 70 by 300 meter cockpit and spent a total of 210 hours (nearly nine days) in the air, including practice bombing runs carried out by F-35 stealth jets.

‘Intensive war scenarios’ in the North Sea should hopefully have prepared those in and around HMS Prince of Wales to protect her from a range of threats, including anti-submarine warfare, countering attacks from unmanned systems, air defense exercises, pilot rescues and practice with sailing through narrow straits while threatened.

In between these large-scale activities, the participating ships conducted their own training: fighting fires and floods, dealing with mock casualties, and replenishing fuel and supplies while underway.

The Royal Navy confirmed that further training will take place in British waters before CSG 2025 deploys.

Downing Street said the UK’s expansion into the Indo-Pacific will also focus on growth as the government looks to increase investment opportunities, with CSG 2025 set to depart to Singapore as part of the route.

Britain will join forces with the Australian government to establish a ‘Pacific Business Club’ to increase opportunities for British businesses in the region’s developing economies.

The Prime Minister said yesterday: ‘My visit to the Pacific has confirmed how important this part of the world is to the UK’s prosperity and security… I know we have a vital role to play in business, trade and defense play in supporting the region.

“As responsible international players, we cannot turn a blind eye to the challenges facing our friends and partners on the other side of the world. So my message today is clear: this is just the beginning of our commitment to the Indo-Pacific.

‘By combining expertise, local knowledge and investment, I truly believe we can create unique opportunities for people both in the Pacific and at home, and by doing that we are playing our part in ensuring a safer, fairer world .’

The announcement comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Russia at the invitation of Vladimir Putin. Several other prominent developing countries attended the summit, including key Commonwealth countries India and South Africa.

Britain’s commitment to expanding its presence around the world depends on its leading aircraft carrier shaking off its ‘cursed’ label.

Since its maiden voyage in December 2017, the 65,000-tonne vessel has suffered a litany of breakdowns costing an estimated £25 million.

She suffered a succession of major leaks in 2020 that led to flooding and in 2022 she broke down hours after setting sail off the Isle of Wight.

Divers discovered a defect in her 33-ton starboard propeller, resulting in repairs that took nine months and cost millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

Then her port thruster suffered similar problems in 2023, caused by misalignment when the massive aircraft carrier was being built.

The findings of an investigation into the malfunctions led to claims that the ship had been rushed into service for political purposes.

Together, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth – the navy’s main aircraft carrier – cost Britain £7 billion.

Commentators have suggested that the enormous costs have left the Royal Navy insufficient resources to build other warships.