HMS Defender, a Type 45 Destroyer part of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Carrier Strike Group, has entered the South China Sea.

The vessel is sailing as part of the Carrier Strike group 21 deployment cewntred around aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory, and it has denounced the presence of foreign warships there as the root of tensions in the region.

Chinese defence spokesman Tan Kefei was quoted in the South China Morning Posas saying:

“The Chinese side believes that the South China Sea should not become a sea of great power rivalry dominated by weapons and warships. The real source of militarisation in the South China Sea comes from countries outside this region sending their warships thousands of kilometres from home to flex muscles. The Chinese military will take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interest as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

What happened last time a British vessel sailed through the South China Sea?

HMS Albion has previously sailed through the South China Sea.

In 2018, assault ship HMS Albion was challenged by a Chinese frigate and two helicopters during freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea. Local media report that both sides remained calm during the encounter and the Royal Navy assault ship continued on course despite protests from China.

What is the UK Carrier Strike Group doing?

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the deployed flag ship for Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21), a deployment that will see the ship and her escorts sail to the Asia-Pacific and back. The Carrier Strike Group includes ships from the United States Navy, the Dutch Navy, and Marines from the US Marine Corps as well as air assets from 617 Sqn, 820 NAS, 815 NAS and 845 NAS.

The Royal Navy say that the UK’s Carrier Strike Group will visit more than one fifth of the world’s nations. Led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, the task group will visit 40 nations including India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore in a deployment covering 26,000 nautical miles.

“While in the Pacific, ships from the Carrier Strike Group will mark the 50th anniversary of the Five Powers Defence Agreement between Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the UK by taking part in Exercise Bersama Lima. Joining HMS Queen Elizabeth on her maiden deployment are destroyers HMS Diamond and Defender; frigates HMS Richmond and Kent; an Astute-class submarine in support below the waves; and Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring.

More than 30 aircraft will also embark across the task group including F-35 jets from 617 Squadron, the Dambusters, and the US Marine Corps’ VMFA-211; Wildcat helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron and Merlin helicopters from 820 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons. Royal Marines from 42 Commando will also deploy with the carrier. Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen and American Arleigh Burke destroyer USS The Sullivans are also part of the strike group.”

HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea with a mix of British and American jets.

Currently however, HMS Diamond isn’t with the group after suffering a defect. You can read more about that here.

HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group will also undertake anti-submarine exercises whilst in the Pacific region.
George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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97 COMMENTS

  1. I imagine what is going through their heads is all the rich fishing grounds and oil located in those waters.

    • still ridiculous. i mean by their logic i guess Britain can take back Normandy and Calais. or still be allowed have our empire

      • Perhaps we should go back to the numerous treaties signed by Alexander the Great that would shake things up a bit no doubt.

    • Obviously that comment is a reflection of the appalling conditions imposed on China rather than any actual authentic territorial claims in this huge area. Therefore it is only right to point out that Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam et al in no way should suffer as a result of that horrible trade generally nor the Opium Wars and the treaties that concluded them in particular though I’m sure you aren’t actually implying that. But as usual in ‘big power’ games it’s the perceived little people who suffer, be the perpetrators European or Chinese (or others indeed) and far too often those who suffered in one generation become the next generation’s oppressors throughout the World and history thereof. The Chinese have of course done a good few circuits in that regard over the past thousands of years themselves they conveniently like to forget.

      • For sure, China will not fire the first bullet against any nation allied to the US…lest she may suffer extreme physical damage…

        China is isolated on its claim of the West Philippine Sea…no other country supports her claim…

    • Hi farouk,

      Yeh, all very historic but also pretty week, but hey if you have the muscles China has…

      Cheers CR

  4. Hence USS The Sullivans taking over as lead air defender for the group. Demonstrates the flexibility and resilience of a NATO derived force very well indeed.

    Cheers CR

      • Hi Jonathan

        It is just Defender at this time.

        As I understand it the rest of the group will be sailing through the CSC at some point. I think the rest of the group is exercising with the Indian Navy.

        It was always stated that vessels would detach from the main group to undertake visits or specific operations. It seems the RN / HMG have decided that they would test the waters in the CSC before the main group transits the same waters.

        Cheers CR

        • Thanks for the reply.

          I thought the whole lot was going through but just when Defender was detached I thought they had changed their minds.

          I wonder if Diamond was meant to do the SCS as Defender had done the Black Sea.

          • You are welcome.

            As for Diamond being planned for doing the lead into the SCS, quite possibly, share the excitement and experience around…

            If nothing else the RN is extremely good at adapting to changing circumstances and with the USN and Royal Netherland Navy also providing very capable air defence units the task group is actually well placed for AAW.

            We shall see over the next couple of days how the Chinese react. I bet there are a lot of senior officers around the world watching very closely. Interesting times.

            Cheers CR

  6. Please don’t conk out is all I can think, the irony of no T45s available at all let alone for the carrier force they were meant to defend doesn’t bear thinking about and won’t be lost on our enemies and their PR campaigns that’s for sure in light of promoting global Britain as a modern technological innovator.

    • In fairness despite the media furore Diamond didn’t conk out she still had 1 gas turbine and her Diesel engines which as gunbuster pointed out is emough for her to be full operational, just with less redundancy I guess and not worth risking her getting stuck on the other side of the world if there’s another issue later in the trip.

  7. I wonder if the Chinese response – whatever that might be – would be different if there weren’t US aircraft on Big Lizzie?

    • Doubt it? Don’t forget the UK is still a Nuclear Power, and it’s not worth getting into a shooting war over a FONOP for either side.

      • Yeh, pains me to say it, but the nuclear deterent really does matter. When the Ukriane broke from the USSR they became the third biggest nuclear power on the planet. It was a complicated situation because they did not have operational control, but they did have physical control of the weapons.

        The big powers put pressure on them to give the weapons back to Russia, which they did – since then Russia has done nothing but destabilise the Ukriane. So yeh, the deterent matters and unilateral disarmament just makes you vulnerable. At least that is the lesson I take away from what is happening in eastern Europe. Sadly.

        Cheers CR

      • They don’t call her ‘Big Lizzie’. It’s actually pretty insulting. That name was coined by the toilet wipe called ‘The Sun’ tabloid. She is known as QE.

    • They have been very vocal to the French, as they currently have an SSN and an FFG in the area.
      The FFG just conducted a FONEX crossing East to West to visit Vietnam…

  8. “We are more important and better than our neighbours so we can bully them all we like, oh and one rule applies to us and another to everyone else, that’s how we can pretend we are the oldest country on earth when in fact we where created in the 1920’s.”
    Or words to that effect.

  9. They do. There are frequent flare ups between Chinese fishing boats and locals who are being bullied away from the exclusive economic regions.

    But when you are a small country and neighbouring the second largest economy in the world that could ruin you without ever firing a shot if it wanted to….there is only so much you can do.

  10. The Vietnamese and the Indonesians have both stood up. Just outside and to SE of the Tongue on the above map is the Indonesian island of Natuna. Weĺl inhabited and rich in natural gas and fishing grounds, in the late 90s (1998? At Bogar conference I think) China also claimed Natuna as being inside their area. Indonesia flooded troops onto the island the following day.

  12. The Chinese have far less expertise and operational experience than the Russians. For the most part they are cautious, even they know they don’t know what they’re doing. Their blue-water navy experience is almost zero.

    • They are also far more disciplined.

      Dont think they are rookie, today, they are probably more capable than russians.
      Thanks to the heavy invest in training in the chinese forces.

      NEVER underestimate your adversary.

      UK and France have paid a lot together in the 2 last world wars because our “elite” have underestimate the risk.
      I pray to never see this happen again for us

  13. It should also be noted they tread lightly around US SCS FONEX’s. They’ll treat the RN the same, and just wait for the CSG to leave.

  14. HI Tom,

    Sadly, they are not nut jobs. They have up until Xi Pinping been very clever at getting the West to pay for their economic miracle and military build up. Xi Pinping is in a hurry, whereas his precessors were willing to play the long team game He is in for his own glory as far as I can tell and he seems to be gambling that the West is in too deep and is tied into China. This is not necessarily true. De-investment is becoming a tool of climate aware investors, for example. So it could become a tool for investors concerned over China’s behviour and the impact on corporate image (not to mention theft of IP).

    In the meantime Xi Pinping has broken with past Chinese policy of playing by the rules and is instead trying to rewrite the global rule book. The best example of this is teh situation in the SCS.

    One of the cleverest policies the Chinese have come up with is the Belt and Road Initiative which is just a back handed way getting poorer or smaller countries, with strategic assets such minerals or valuable harbours into debt to China which they then use to lever access to the resources or facilities that they wanted all along.

    For example, China is bullying Sri Lanka for access to Trincomalee Harbour.

    If China can bully a few more nations then she may well gain safe harbours and air bases around the globe. If she does the West is in trouble by the end of this century IMO.

    Those are not the plans and actions of nut jobs. Rather they are clever, dangerously clever people, on a mission.

    The West and the UK are going to need much more capable militaries before much longer unless they can convince China that a response is inevitable unless they change their behaviours. Which seems most unlikely at the moment.

    Cheers CR

    • Not forgetting they have already taken Hambantota… where they tried to replace the Sinhala street names with Chinese ones..

      Then there is New Colombo Port City; the central, island long motorway; new railway line; new ‘luxury’ train sets and other investments, that when the kleptocratic leadership of Sri Lanka fail to pay for, will see China dig its claws in deeper: you can only hope the Rajapaksa family receive some karma for their behaviour.

      Again, I am saddened that the CSG did not visit this gem of an island and let its anglophile populace know of our regard for them.

  15. The real militarisation is coming into islands thousands of miles from your country and making them military bases. Why don’t you try touching those ships encroaching into “your” islands!

  16. On the one hand I was thinking that RN forays into the Black Sea and South China Sea were perhaps unnecessarily provocative but have come round to believing that these excursions are vital in assisting to keep international waters open to international navigation! Imagine if the UK suddenly and unlilaterally announced its annexation of the North Sea apart from narrow corridors around the coasts of those countries sharing it’s shores! It would not only become a pariah but a laughing stock in the West. More to the point, it would not happen in the Western democracies. China’s actions have united the nations in the region many of whom have substantial militaries so let us hope all remain fully aware of the consequences of an outbreak of hostilities.
    On the topic of the Type 45’s, if I were Boris I would immediately as a top priority sort the ongoing issues with the Daring class. The fact that these problems still plague what is a vital element in the defence of the fleet is an outrage. It really is true that a good middle order businessman would sort this out in a flash if a piece of troublesome hardware were part of his operation. This is especially true in the cas of the T45 as we only have 6 instead of the original 12. A dozen might have sustained such a low availability rate

  17. About time the US and it’s allies built a few bases on those islands in the South China Sea and let the Chinese know that they are not going to compromise international borders.

  18. Was it not @gunbuster who mentioned that some T45s were able to hoover up Opfor Int? Is that why she is sailing ahead? Those man-made islands will be a gold mine if they have no subsea cables connecting them.

  20. Very risky business sending our only 45 into the area. We are leaving our carried hopelessly exposed from an air defence prospective. Trusting one American Destroyer with the defence of the whole fleet seems very silly.

    Why didn’t they send one of the two frigates instead?

      • Fair point but we still seem light on the ground for air defence considering that’s the preferred method of intimidation by the Chinese.

        • Im not sure what our policy is with regard to putting a few F35s up as a CAP, but that would dilute any intimidation, although might possibly be viewed as an escalation!!!

          • I’d love us to buzz their illegal man made islands, we’ve let it slide too far with a rapacious country.

          • The carrier will try to have a CAP up 24/7, which is standard carrier operational procedures. Hopefully, this is being backed up with the Crowsnest Merlins.

          • Had a thought on this, understand that they would try to have a 24/7 CAP, but in reality do we have enough airframes onboard for that?
            I’m assuming that a CAP is 2x aircraft in the air with another 2 on standby. Not sure what the endurance of said aircraft in the air is 2-3 hrs?
            This puts a large strain on airframe availability!

          • It will be the Navy’s aspiration to have a 24/7 CAP. I’m not sure that’s fully achievable right now? If we had an organic tanker aircraft and fixed wing AEW it definitely would be. But that’s a while off yet. With 18 F35Bs embarked it should be doable.

            Another question would be, do the USMC doing CAP duties from their LHA/Ds when their part of a Marine Expeditionary Force, especially when the ship has a lot more helicopters and Ospreys on board? As I believe they only carry 10 Harriers or F35s.

            The exercise they did off Scotland was to put the crew through running a CAP as well as doing offensive tasks. Clearly they haven’t said how well they actually performed at doing both concurrently, except they said, all the exercise requirements were met.

            Invincible managed to provide 24/7 CAP for the task group leaving Hermès with the offensive tasks and standing patrols over San Carlos etc. She is a lot smaller than the QE class. The larger deck area should allow for easier aircraft movements, turnarounds and readiness. I would expect their to be a surplus of pilots on the carrier, thus allowing a better use of the airframes. As it’s early days and the Navy are relearning hie to operate a big carrier, I’d bet there is a CAP but it’s not 24/7. When she’s in the SCS, I’d of thought that they would endeavor for 24/7, for safety’s sake.

          • Yes, my post was in context to TG in the SCS, so some interesting points. Would agree that alert level will be higher all round during transit of SCS.
            Certainly leaves us under no illusions as to how many aircraft would be required for any form of war tasking against near/peer opponents.

      • You know exactly what I meant… one in theatre.

        Keep your daft comments to yourself please… this is a board for adults

    • Other eastern countries are also joining i.e. Australia Japan,South Korea,India,Singapore,New Zealand,Malaya,Thailand, USA,Taiwan, I doubt very much that China would try to stop them or interfere with their peaceful trip through international water’s , but the point they are making is support for Taiwan which is being threatened by China.

      • It’s funny that this TG consists countries from a variety of nations that we sail, work together and exercise together. The Chinese don’t have anyone to play with or exercise with, except maybe Russia. They would claim the world if they could. That’s why we are here. If they wanted to do something, stop the piracy in the south Sea that they ignore. The freedom of the sea is what we defend.

    • The two T23’s are also pretty handy for fleet defence. And we are not at war. So I’m not sure who you think is suddenly going start a major international crisis.

    • She will be fine. More than capable. I would not mess with a British flotiilla, and the Chinese know it. It is all rhetoric from their stance. They simply don’t have the technology nor the backup. Good on the British for taking a stand on this oppressive regime.

      • They do and they have. ….albeit the technology was stolen from others and the back-up…how does it go…quantity brings a quality all of its own…and they have ample quantity.

        • I understand what you are saying, but the British always have a ‘Plan B’, something up their sleeve. Take radar as an example in WW2. Additionally, where there is will, (as they say), there is a way. I personally would not mess with the RN if I were Xi, and he must understand that. Britain is a sleeping giant, as so is France. As they say, “don’t poke the bear”. Just my view.

          • Don’t disagree Edward that Xi needs to be cautious and he will be hesitant. Rn and France are very capable. Wouldn’t say sleeping giants though. ..sleeping middleweights.

            Over past 20 years I’ve worked and travelled extensively across south, south east and east Asia. Chinese influence is massive but there is a growing discontentment amongst the people.. what scares me is extent to which Xi will seek / use big national gestures to keep the CCP in power.

            I suspect Taiwan will be his focus but he certainly can’t afford to be seen to be bullied by the West.

            Cheers

    • HNLMS Evertsen (F805) is also part of the CSG having a type 41 VLS holding SM2 Standard & ESSM SAMs similar in capability to the ABs. So with HMS Defender detached for this foray & the other T45 away for repairs we still have 2 area air defence units covering the CSG.Just 6 T45s is too few for operating 2 carriers & as we see, barely enough for just the 1 CSG without help from allies. As we saw in the Falklands war, we sometimes have to go it alone. With RN escorts dipping from a terrible 19 to 17 for a few years, we’re acutely short of escorts.

    • There’s always the Aussies, the SK and the Japanese. Having a couple of them in tow would be a heck of a boost in AAW.

  21. Nice to know that HMS Queen Elizabeth and her destroyers of the RN, is back to their old Playgrounds in SEA and the SCS. I believe the British cartographers made a big mistake in the early days, naming the sea as the SCS. The Cartographers should have named the sea as the South East Asian Sea. Well Commie China with it’s expansionist ideas can only yell threats to the RN’s return to her old playgrounds.

  22. Like the Russians in the black seas and the Chinese about thse so call chinese seas .Both of countries both stated the waters belong to them,both Russia and China are claing seas ,But are totally false.These waters are both in international
    waters and all ships are able to use these waters as are all both Internetional waters and so all navies from all countries,so black seas and chinas seas are internationl except for areas close to the countries concerned .

  23. Remind China they sailed through the English Channel twice, also they sail through the Malacca straights constantly. Should they be closed off to them? Same rules apply in all places.

  25. The CCP would like a world of compliant authoritarian regimes where people are terrified to express what they really feel for fear of arrest, imprisonment or worse.
    The SCS islands are far more realistically claimed by the far closer nations, as adjudicated by the UN, so the PRC has to rely on bullying & intimidation to bolster its illegal neo colonial acts. It is simply repeating the sins it condemns the C19th Europeans perpetrated against her.
    Now we’ve handed over so much economic clout to her by moving so much manufacturing to China (Impoverishing our own people), she’s using that to dominate the globe.
    I hope & pray our CSG completes its freedom of navigation passage there & there’s a shift in the PRC leadership that climbs down from it’s illegal Island building & spurious claims for the sake of the free world. If the US & allies don’t stand up to China, we’d leave her a free hand to opress the whole world.

  26. All I’ll say is, you reap what you sow.
    We should NOT be forcing the hand of a VERY capable power like China.

    • They’re sailing through international waters. Virtually no other country recognises China’s claim and a number have counter claims.

      • If Defender isn’t doing anything wrong, why is this being reported?!? Ah yes, China recognises the action as provocative. Sailing through its sovereign territory. 🧐🤔🙄

        • But it’s not its sovereign territory its being reported because China has unilaterally claimed it. China has already reaped international condemnation for its SCS claim and ignoring a UN Court ruling. If it attacked a UK vessel in what the the majority if the world see as international waters it would be China suffering the consequences. Just this week Malaysia scrambled jets to intercept Chinese jets over an Area of the SCS why would they do that if they recognised China’s claim. Ask Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan how they see Chinas territory claims. I would think they see it as provocation.

  27. The CCP may claim much of the SCS as its own, but other countries in the area are extremely displeased with that.
    And maintaining international waters is one big reason why we have a navy!

    • ?? Chinese naval vessels are perfectly free to sail in international waters around Europe , the UK or anywhere else they feel like. Unlike them, no government is claiming the entirety of the North Sea, English Channel, Celtic and Irish Sea and the North Atlantic as their territorial waters. The fact that they don’t or can’t is because they are not a capable blue water navy.

  29. Well done everyone. A lot of countries in the region will be gratified to know they have a friend and partner in the United Kingdom.

    • Yea, how a Chinese comedian ones put it, the British are a very important species in the system of Nations. Imagine this system being like a human body, the British would be the large intestine, the colon. Its their destination to turn things into shit.That’s what they did to other peoples countries and that’s why what they did to China and many other countries is called colonisation (or neocolonialism in today’s terms) For all the British who get offended by this, he ask the question: “Why is it, that you could take other people’s countries (and turn them into shit) but you can’t take a joke? At least this was given willingly…. That is almost British humour, isn’t it?  😜 ….And what do the British do, when they have nothing left to deal with, but….Great Britain…how proud this ones sounded…………???

      • Not sure of the point of your comment. Also in this system of nations you describe which countries play other part of the body? And can you provide the list of countries that have been turned into s**t to qualify you statement.

        • The way “Thomas” constructs his comments would suggest that English is far from “his” first language…  😉 

  30. You’ve obviously spent a lot of time and thought on the matter but this is probably not the best site for you. We all have other interests but this is a site for news and debate on UK defence issues. If you want to share them I’m sure you’d be welcome. I’m sure this will be adjudicated by the way !

  31. Why now!! Why they didn’t do it before by putting warships in the area and informing china not to build islands so to exercise the freedom of navigation of every countries. Now China has completed building the islands and militarizing it. But one solution.. all power countries allied to US to inform China that you are going for distruction and bomb those islands because they are all illegal structure that belongs to other sovereign state

  32. There never was any tension in the South China Sea until china started claiming almost all of the South Chia Sea.
    If what they claim is true, they should have faced the case filed by the Philippines with authentic evidence. Instead, they boycotted the hearings which only proves they have no proof of their claim.

  33. Wonder how the U.K. or the U.S. would react if a Chinese warship fleet would sail around the N.Sea or Gulf of Mexico?

      • International merchant ships have plied the S.China Sea for years without hindrance. I think you miss the point of my comment.

        • It is you Mike that miss the point.

          Nor U.S. or U.K claim those are their territorial water, they will keep a close eye but will not harras them like Chinese do.

    • That would be a legal act, so they’d be observed closely of course but as they wouldn’t be breaking any law would be left alone

  35. The Chinese did this before early 1900 s stood up against the world then backed down under global pressure. Is this history repeating itself?

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