Royal Navy defies China en route to South China Sea

In what seems like more than a coincidence, the United Kingdom’s (UK) largest naval contingent in recent memory has conducted unprecedented drillsoff the coast of Singapore just hours before the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s much-awaited address at Singapore’s annual Fullerton Forum.

This week saw the UK’s Carrier Strike Group, led by the 65,000-tonne carrier aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) hold joint naval exercises close to the hotly disputed South China Sea.

This was the first time that the Royal Navy’s 5th generation Carrier Strike Group exercised alongside the RSN, which has been rapidly expanding its security cooperation with the US and other allied powers in recent years. Just days earlier, the British contingent conducted joint drills (July 21-22) with the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal.

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