Britain to send an aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific in 2025

LONDON — The Royal Navy is to deploy a carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific region as part of strengthening of its defense ties with Japan and other nations there, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Thursday on the eve of the G7 summit meeting in Hiroshima.

Confirmation of the planned deployment of one of the Royal Navy’s two 65,000-tonne behemoths came as Sunak and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, agreed May 18 what is called the Hiroshima Accord, a wide-ranging pact covering economic, defense, security and technology collaboration.

The accord is the latest in a string of moves by the British to tilt their economic and defense strategy more towards the Indo-Pacific against a background of increasing Chinese belligerence in the region.

In the last six months, the British have completed negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc, launched the UK-Japan-Italy sixth-generation combat jet program and in January signed the defense Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan, which among other benefits will simplify procedures for joint training exercises.

The two sides also plan to increase cyber cooperation as part of the Hiroshima Accord, said a British statement.

Sunak’s visit saw the British confirm they will increase the number of troops taking part in the Vigilant Isles military exercise planned for Japan later this year.

Around 170 UK personnel will be involved, including soldiers from the 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles and 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Sunak, who visited Japanese aircraft carrier JS Izumo ahead of the G7 Summit, said the new agreement was the latest step in a flourishing partnership with Tokyo.

“The Hiroshima Accord will see us step up cooperation between our armed forces, grow our economies together and develop our world-leading science and technology expertise,” Sunak said.

Details of the new carrier deployment are not yet available other than the British saying in their statement the strike group will include naval escorts and F-35 combat jets working alongside the Japanese Self Defence Force and other navies in the region.

The deployment will be the second time a Queen Elizabeth-class carrier has deployed to the region.

In its inaugural deployment in 2021 HMS Queen Elizabeth toured the Indo-Pacific region leading a force of Royal Navy, U.S. and Dutch surface combatants and support ships.

A squadron of U.S. Marine Corp F-35B’s also deployed alongside British jets onboard the Royal Navy carrier.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国首相里希·苏纳克周四在广岛七国集团峰会前夕宣布，英国皇家海军将向印太地区部署一个航母打击群，以加强其与日本和该地区其他国家的防务关系。

英国皇家海军两艘 65,000 吨级巨舰之一的部署计划得到确认。与此同时，苏纳克和他的日本同行岸田文雄于 5 月 18 日达成了一项名为《广岛协定》的广泛协议，涵盖经济、国防、安全和技术合作。

这项协议是英国为使其经济和国防战略更加向印太地区倾斜而采取的一系列举措中的最新一项，而这一举措的背景是中国在该地区日益咄咄逼人的姿态。

在过去的六个月里，英国完成了加入《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》的谈判，启动了英国-日本-意大利第六代战斗机项目，并在1月份与日本签署了防务互惠准入协议，该协议除其他好处外，还将简化联合训练演习的程序。

英国方面在一份声明中表示，双方还计划根据《广岛协定》加强网络合作。

苏纳克访问期间，英国方面确认将增加参加今年晚些时候在日本举行的“警戒岛”军事演习的部队人数。

约有 170 名英国人员将参与其中，其中包括来自第 1 皇家廓尔喀步枪团和第 16 空中突击旅的士兵。

在七国集团峰会召开前夕，苏纳克访问了日本航空母舰“出云”号。他表示，这项新协议是与东京蓬勃发展的伙伴关系中的最新一步。

苏纳克表示：“《广岛协定》将促使我们加强两国军队之间的合作，共同发展经济，并提升我们世界领先的科学技术实力。”

除了英国在声明中表示，此次航母部署的详情尚未公布外，英国方面表示，打击群将包括海军护航舰艇和F-35战斗机，将与日本自卫队和该地区其他国家的海军并肩作战。

这将是伊丽莎白女王级航母第二次部署到该地区。

2021 年，伊丽莎白女王号航空母舰首次部署，率领英国皇家海军、美国和荷兰水面作战舰艇及支援舰艇组成的舰队巡游了印度-太平洋地区。

美国海军陆战队的一个 F-35B 战斗机中队也与英国战机一起部署在皇家海军的航母上。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。