Latest news with #HMSSpey
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UK aircraft carrier in Indo-Pacific on rare deployment
LONDON — A British aircraft carrier has docked in Singapore on a rare Indo-Pacific deployment which will see it call on Australia, Japan, Korea and take part in several multinational exercises. HMS Prince of Wales' visit comes weeks after two Chinese aircraft carriers concluded simultaneous drills in the region, in an unprecedented move prompting Japan's protest. The carrier strike group's commander James Blackmore says he does not expect conflict with Chinese counterparts, noting the UK and China each "has every right to sail its ships in international sea space". "I almost expect they'll want to come and want to watch what we're doing... Lots of other parties will wish to witness what we're doing," he tells the BBC. "But I do recognise it will be safe and professional. That's the way we operate in the maritime." Just last week, China had criticised another British warship HMS Spey's passage through the Taiwan Strait as an act of "intentional provocation" that "undermines peace and stability".HMS Spey is one of two British warships - the other being HMS Tamar - permanently on patrol in the Prince of Wales, which docked in Singapore on Monday, is one of the UK Navy's largest ships with a flight deck large enough to fit three football its eight-month deployment, HMS Prince of Wales will be supported by ships from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Spain, among deployment begins with around 2,500 military personnel and will grow to over 4,500 for some key warship's presence in the Indo-Pacific also comes at a time when Washington has become more unpredictable, which introduces uncertainty to military alliances in the instance, it is now reviewing its multi-billion dollar submarine deal with the UK and how crucial the Aukus pact is to his carrier strike group's mission, Commodore Blackmore declined to comment, noting that the deal is "being entirely dealt with at a government to government level".The group is headed down under next month to participate in an Australia-led exercise which will involve the US and other regional will then sail through the Philippine Sea to Japan, where it will support Japanese authorities in developing the country's F-35 capability, Commodore Blackmore Prince of Wales' deployment demonstrates the UK's commitment to the region, he adds."It's about upholding a rules-based international order and recognising the importance of trade between a free and open Indo-Pacific and the European theatre," he its way home in September, HMS Prince of Wales will take part in the annual warfighting exercise of the Five Power Defence Arrangements - referring to defence pacts between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK established in last time a UK aircraft carrier joined these drills was in 1971. — BBC
Newsweek
3 days ago
- General
- Newsweek
US Allies Challenge Beijing's Claims in Contested South China Sea
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The British and Australian militaries have challenged China's claims over the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea with a "freedom of navigation" operation. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Australian Navy via email for comment outside of office hours. Why It Matters China asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, an archipelago with competing claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei. The United States, and increasingly its allies, have stepped up naval transits in disputed areas in recent years to push back against the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by claimant countries. What To Know On Monday, British River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey and Australian Hobart-class guided missile destroyer HMAS Sydney "conducted a freedom of navigation activity around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in accordance with UNCLOS," the United Kingdom's Permanent Joint Headquarters wrote on X (formerly Twitter). China had not publicly commented on the operation as of press time, but it frequently criticizes military activities by "outside countries." A service member of the British Navy looks through binoculars during a "freedom of navigation activity" in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands on June 23, 2025. A service member of the British Navy looks through binoculars during a "freedom of navigation activity" in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands on June 23, 2025. Just days earlier, the Spey passed through another disputed waterway—the Taiwan Strait—amid ongoing tensions between China and the self-ruled democracy of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. Taiwan's foreign ministry thanked the U.K. on X for "standing with Taiwan in support of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific." The Spey, along with its sister ship HMS Tamar, has been permanently based in the Pacific since 2021 as part of London's effort to play a larger role in the region. During U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy's visit to the Philippines in March, he condemned China's "dangerous and destabilizing activities" in the South China Sea. China's territorial dispute with the Philippines has been particularly fierce in recent years as Chinese maritime forces expand into the U.S. defense treaty ally's exclusive economic zone. In 2016, a Hague-based arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of Manila and dismissed China's claims within the Philippines' maritime zone, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Beijing maintains the decision is invalid. The most recent U.S. Navy ship to pass near the Spratly Islands was the USS Dewey, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, on May 12. What People Are Saying China's embassy in the U.K. responded to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy's remark in March: "As a country outside the region, the U.K. should respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability. "We urge the U.K. to stop heightening antagonism and sowing discord, and stop any words and deeds that undermine regional peace and stability." What Happens Next The U.K. and Australia are likely to continue conducting periodic "freedom of navigation" activities in the South China Sea as well as the Taiwan Strait.
MTV Lebanon
20-06-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
20 Jun 2025 10:42 AM China sends scores of warplanes toward Taiwan
China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early Friday, 61 of which crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait that unofficially divides the sides, an unusually large number as tensions remained heightened in the region. It wasn't clear why so many planes were scrambled between late Thursday and early Friday, as tabulated by Taiwan's Defense Ministry. The planes were sent in two separate tranches, it added. China considers Taiwan its own territory and uses such deployments to advertise its threat to encircle and possibly invade the self-governing island. China also hopes to intimidate Taiwan's population of 23 million and wear down its equipment and the morale of its armed forces. On Thursday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs 'confirmed and welcomed' the transit of the British Royal Navy's off-shore patrol craft HMS Spey through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship's transit, the ministry said, 'once again (reaffirmed the Strait's) status as international waters.' 'Such transits by the U.K. and other like-minded countries are encouraged to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific,' the Foreign Ministry said. Britain's representative office in Taipei said in a statement that the Spey had conducted a navigation of the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law and rights provided under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 'Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law and exercises its right to Freedom of Navigation and overflight,' the statement added. China responded angrily, saying the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army 'organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process and effectively responded and dealt with it.' The British ship's action 'deliberately disturbed the situation and undermined the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,' the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement. The bustling Taiwan Strait lies in international waters, but China objects to any transit or activity within it by foreign military vessels. It wasn't clear if the large number of Chinese warplanes sent on Thursday and Friday were related to the earlier sailing of the British ship. Six military ships accompanied the Chinese planes, which ranged from drones to fighter jets and early warning and other support aircraft. Taiwan deployed ships, fighter interceptors and land-based missile systems in response.
Telegraph
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
An unarmed Royal Navy warship has just quietly struck a blow for freedom
Freedom of Navigation (FON) is a cornerstone of the international order – and it's one that must be exercised or it can disappear. It's not just a legal principle under the UN Convention on the Law Of the Sea (UNCLOS), but a live issue. Today, nearly every global choke point is under stress. The Red Sea has had Freedom of Navigation (FON) challenged successfully by the Houthis since December 2023. The current uneasy ceasefire there has not restored sufficient confidence for the larger merchant ships to consider routing through there again. The Black Sea was nearly closed after Russia's invasion, until Ukraine's naval ingenuity restored free passage for its grain exports. The Strait of Hormuz is in the telescope today as commentators try and guess if the US is about to get involved in the Iran campaign and what that could mean for FON in the Strait of Hormuz. The Danish Straits and the Northern Sea Route are also now contested in different ways. Meanwhile, in the part of the world many deem the most important, HMS Spey has just conducted a Freedom of Navigation patrol in the Taiwan Strait, the first by the Royal Navy since the 2021 carrier strike group deployment dispatched HMS Richmond through there. HMS Spey, alone, unafraid, and basically unarmed, did the same on Wednesday. This raises a few interesting points. As the British office in Taipei noted after the 2021 patrol: 'Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law and exercises its right to freedom of navigation and overflight provided by UNCLOS.' Yet China tries to claim that the Taiwan Strait is its own and it has the right to deny passage through it. China also tries to claim that nearly all of the South China Sea belongs to it too. So who is right? From a UK and general international perspective this is an easy one. China's claims have no legal basis whatsoever – as found by the Hague's ruling against them in 2016 invalidating their claim to the 'nine-dash line'. China described the Hague ruling as 'null and void'. As importantly, their actions in the China Sea are repeatedly in breach of normal, professional and disciplined maritime behaviours. Close passes, ramming, fire hoses, lasers and so on are behaviours that you would wish to avoid whether you think you are in your own waters or not. It's all part of a broader attempt to 'normalise illegal' until the international community becomes deaf to it, and then you advance one more step. FONOPs, as conducted by Spey, are part of the counter to this. That she is unarmed is also interesting because it made the inevitable outrage from Chinese state run media look pretty silly. Screaming and yelling at an unarmed patrol boat is not a good look. It doesn't seem like she was shadowed through the transit in the way we do when Russian warships pass the UK. Again this is indicative of Spey not being an actual threat, perhaps. It's also of note that were it not for Taiwan's Foreign Ministry publicly praising the operation, we might not have found out about it at all. 'Do it but don't shout about it' appears to have been our Ministry of Defence's – reasonable – communications posture for this one. What does this mean as our Carrier Strike Group closes on the region? Without the Spey dash, one would have assumed that they would have detached a frigate to do it later this year as per the 2021 playbook. Was this FONOP done to set the conditions and judge the reaction before doing it again with a larger, better armed ship, or is that it for now? The final point is the worth of these unarmed patrol ships. With two in the Indo-Pacific, one in the Mediterranean, one in the Caribbean and one in the Falklands, they have more than paid back the paltry sum it cost to buy them. They are also one of the few remaining bastions of faraway fun left in an overstretched fleet and a good command opportunity for those aspiring to higher rank. In other words, it would be madness to either bring them back to the UK or dispense with them altogether. But it's a sad reflection on the state of Defence, and Defence thinking, that both these options are now likely. In an increasingly unstable world, and with missiles in the air every night, there is a temptation to assume that every naval interaction will result in high-intensity combat. In fact the opposite is true. The vast majority of naval interactions are like this one. Benign, challenging, occasionally threatening (both ways) but ultimately designed to set the conditions to avoid conflict. Spey's contribution, whilst small, is part of this wider picture and her captain and ship's company should be commended for doing it. Without such operations Chinese legal perceptions will become international reality – at which point Freedom of Navigation in this critical part of the world is forever compromised.
The Independent
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
China furious as UK warship passes by in patrol
China 's military sharply criticised the passage of a British warship, HMS Spey, through the Taiwan Strait, labelling it a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble" and asserting the waterway constitutes Chinese waters. Britain's Royal Navy maintained the transit was a "routine navigation" conducted in full compliance with international law, aligning with Taiwan and the United States who consider the strait an international waterway. Taiwan's government welcomed the British warship's sailing, affirming its defence of freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te ordered heightened surveillance and intelligence efforts in response to increased Chinese military activities, including a report of 50 aircraft near the island. The incident occurs as China has stepped up military drills around Taiwan, and amid efforts by Britain and China to mend relations, with a potential visit by a British leader to Beijing later this year.
