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British warship makes Singapore stop amid UK’s bid to reaffirm Asia presence
- The Queen Elizabeth led a British carrier strike group in exercises with Singapore’s military at the weekend
- Singapore is one of more than 40 countries the strike group will interact with through visits or exercises during its global deployment
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Britain’s new aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth made a stop in Singapore on Monday, part of a move to reassert itself globally and boost its military presence in Asia amid rising competition among major powers.
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The Queen Elizabeth led a British carrier strike group in exercises with Singapore’s military at the weekend, including naval manoeuvres and simulated combat training with F-35B stealth fighters and F-16 jets.
Britain plans to permanently deploy warships in Asian waters, where the United States and Western allies are trying to contain China’s militarisation and island-building in seas vital to the movement of trillions of dollars of global trade.
“Our recent integrated review highlighted the importance of the Indo-Pacific and the UK’s intent to tilt here and have an increased footprint, and much more persistent presence,” strike group commander, Commodore Steve Moorhouse, told Reuters aboard the new 65,000-tonne vessel.
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“What better way to just show that off in the first instance, with Queen Elizabeth deploying here for her first operational deployment.”
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