UK Carrier Strike Group to visit Japan in 2025

Queen Elizabeth pictured in the South China Sea during its inaugural deployment to the Indo-Pacific region in 2021. (Royal Navy)

The UK's planned carrier strike group (CSG) deployment to the Indo-Pacific region in 2025 will include a port call to Japan, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.

The 2025 naval task force, which will include an aircraft carrier, its escorts, and F-35 combat aircraft, will work alongside the Japan Self-Defense Forces and other partners to help defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Shapps said during a visit to Japan's Yokosuka Naval Base on 14 December.

The 2025 deployment will be the second time one of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Queen Elizabeth-class carriers has deployed to the Indo-Pacific and marks another step in the UK's efforts to demonstrate its presence and wider commitment to the region in the face of China's growing assertiveness. It follows the inaugural deployment of first-of-class Queen Elizabeth to the region as part of ‘Carrier Strike Group 2021', which also included a port stop in Japan.

The CSG deployments build on the RN's persistent presence in the region, which has been provided by the service's two Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels, HMS Spey and HMS Tamar , since September 2021.