UK-India Quad Tango Against China; Joint Naval Exercise On 22 & 23 July

The UK’s carrier strike force led by HMS Queen Elizabeth will conduct naval exercises in the Indian Ocean region later this month.

The UK’s carrier strike force led by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has sailed into the Indian Ocean sector and will carry out a wargame with the Indian Navy later this month in the light of growing bilateral military ties.

It is HMS Queen Elizabeth’s first operational deployment, the warship has a fleet of more than 30 aircraft, two submarines, and over 4,500 personnel from Indian and Royal Navy will exercise from July 22-23.

 India military officials said that a list of multiple drills will going to be administered as a part of the wargame that is expected to take place around July 26.

 The High Commission of the United Kingdom in India said the Carrier Strike Group 2021, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, has sailed into the Indian Ocean Region “It demonstrates both the UK’s support for the liberty of passage through vital trading routes and for a free, open and inclusive order within the Indo-Pacific,” and also represents the UK’s commitment to deepening diplomatic, economic and security ties with India and in the Indo-Pacific region, it added.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “By visiting 40 countries and dealing alongside our partners, the UK is standing up for democratic values, seizing new trading opportunities and tackling the shared threats we face together,”.

As a part of this effort, Britain has decided to permanently station two of its patrol boats within the Indo-Pacific in an order to make sure freedom of navigation and rule of law in the sea. The UK joined a select group of nations like the US, Australia, Japan, and France to depute officials at the Gurgaon-based facility.