Aircraft Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Heading for West Pacific

The United Kingdom will dispatch one of its two aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, later this month for a deployment in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean.

Newsweek has emailed both the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment.

Why It Matters

This marks the second time a Royal Navy aircraft carrier will be deployed to the Western Pacific Ocean since 2021, when HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Prince of Wales' sister ship, executed its maiden voyage to the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea.

While aircraft carriers operating in the Western Pacific Ocean are mostly from the United States and China, Washington's European allies have sent theirs to the Far East in recent years, including France, which deployed FS Charles de Gaulle in the region last November.

The deployment of the British aircraft carrier comes as China is expanding its fleet of warships to challenge America's naval dominance. The Chinese military has the world's second-largest aircraft carrier fleet, with two vessels in service and a third being tested.

What To Know

The British Defense Ministry announced in a press release on Tuesday that the Prince of Wales is scheduled to depart from Portsmouth in southern England on April 22, which will lead a deployment, code-named Operation Highmast, with 12 other supporting countries.

This multinational deployment is aimed at reaffirming London's commitment to the security of the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific region while providing an opportunity to promote British trade and industry in Singapore, Japan and India, according to the press release.

The Royal Navy will demonstrate what British Defense Secretary John Healey called "formidable capability," with a powerful deterrence message to any adversary. Healey noted that the U.K. is one of a handful of nations in the world able to lead a deployment of this scale.

The Prince of Wales, which has a displacement of 65,000 tons, is expected to have up to 24 Royal Air Force F-35B fighter jets embarked on board. Nearly 4,000 British personnel, including 900 from the British Army, will support the eight-month deployment.

Following its departure from the U.K., the British naval task group will be placed under the command of NATO during Exercise Neptune Strike in the Mediterranean, which will aim to test the alliance's ability to use high-end maritime strike capabilities.

The Prince of Wales will head to the Indian Ocean afterward to conduct exercises and port visits before taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre near Australia and then training with the Japanese military. It will make a stopover in India before concluding its deployment.

What People Are Saying

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said: "I want to thank the thousands of our Armed Forces personnel involved in the delivery of this immensely complex operation, demonstrating the U.K.'s world-leading capability to deploy a major military force around the world."

U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard said: "This isn't just about hard power; it's about building influence and opening new trade opportunities both for defense and other sectors of our economy which will deliver British jobs and growth."

The Japanese Defense Ministry said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "As the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable, [Japan Ministry of Defense/Japan Self-Defense Forces] welcomes this important effort that shows U.K.'s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region."

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether the British aircraft carrier will take part in the ongoing U.S. strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen while transiting the Red Sea.