In response to the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the British aircraft carrier battle group visited Japan and South Korea to hold a 17-nation joint military exercise

The British Embassy in Japan confirmed the same day that the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier battle group will make its maiden voyage through Asia-Pacific waters to visit Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported on April 26.

The report said that the move is aimed at strengthening Britain’s security ties with East Asian countries at a time when Japan is increasingly concerned about China’s threat of force against Taiwan. The British carrier battle group will include 18 F-35B stealth fighters, two destroyers, two cruisers and two supply ships, and will sail through the waters of the South China Sea, where China has sovereignty disputes with other Southeast Asian countries, calling at ports in India and Singapore on the way.

According to a press release from the British government, the HMS Queen Elizabeth battle group will also join naval vessels from the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel, India, Oman and South Korea in joint military exercises.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held their first face-to-face summit meeting and issued a statement this month, jointly expressing heightened concern over China’s increasing dictatorship and the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.