The Australian Financial Review reported on Feb. 11 that negotiations between Australian and British military chiefs on the Royal Australian Navy’s participation in the Royal Navy’s plan to send the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group to cruise the Indo-Pacific region are progressing well. Japanese media previously reported that the “HMS Queen Elizabeth” carrier strike group is expected to hold joint military exercises with the U.S. military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in the waters off Japan.
According to the report, the carrier strike group HMS Queen Elizabeth will sail through the crucial Strait of Malacca and may transit through the disputed South China Sea. The Australian Navy will join the U.S., Japanese and Dutch navies that have already announced their participation in the operation. The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Sullivans is reported to sail from Portsmouth, England, in May and will accompany the carrier strike group. The U.S. warship will work alongside two Type 45 destroyers, several Type 23 frigates, RFA tankers and support ships and a submarine from the British Navy. In addition, a squadron of U.S. Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets will also operate from HMS Queen Elizabeth during the deployment.
It is understood that the Dutch Navy announced as early as October 2018 that it would send a warship to participate in the Queen Elizabeth’s first overseas deployment. The Nikkei Asian Review reported in January that Berlin plans to send a frigate homeported in northern Germany to the Indo-Pacific region for a period of Time, with stops in Japan, Australia, South Korea and other places.
Details of the Australian ship’s participation have yet to be confirmed, but it is understood that it will include at least one frigate. “The itinerary for the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group has not been announced, but it is not expected to sail to Australia. Previous reports have said the carrier will visit ports in Oman, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, so it is likely to transit through the South China Sea.
British Prime Minister Johnson announced his intention to send a new British aircraft carrier to the region during a visit to Sydney as foreign secretary in 2017. The Royal Australian Navy warships will likely join the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group in Singapore. The Australian Defense Department said it welcomed the deployment of the strike group and that “the United Kingdom and Australia are committed to maintaining a rules-based international order.
“The Royal Australian Navy regularly seeks to train with partner navies to build interoperability, share seafarer skills and strengthen professional ties in the region, particularly in this case with the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier,” the Australian Defense Department said. The service said “advanced planning is underway with the Royal Navy to determine how the two navies will train together during the deployment of the ‘HMS Queen Elizabeth’ carrier strike group.”
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