New British warship makes stop in Singapore

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.

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 two 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.

Singapore is one of more than 40 countries the strike group will interact with through visits or exercises during its global deployment, according to a British government statement.

Britain, like China, now has two aircraft carriers, compared to the United States’ 11. The $4 billion Queen Elizabeth is the largest warship built by the British military and is roughly the length of three soccer fields at 274 metres (900 feet).