UK needs to decide – is it in or out of Asia-Pacific?
The UK RN seems determined to deploy a carrier group in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, as the first operational deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth. This long-planned trip seems set to proceed, despite COVID-19 causing challenges to military operations around the world in 2020.
The Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group (CSG) will represent the largest RN presence in Asia for well over a decade. It is intended to serve both as proof of the UK government’s commitment and renewed interest in the Asia-Pacific region, and also to confirm the concept of the CSG. F-35 aircraft from the UK and
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