Britain's Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier to visit Japan, South Korea on maiden deployment

Britain's HMSQueenElizabethaircraftcarrierwill lead a flotilla of Royal Navy ships through Asian waters on portvisits toJapanand South Korea on itsmaidendeployment, the British embassy in Tokyo said on Monday.

The high-profilevisits, aimed at bolstering security ties in East Asia, come amid tensions in the region as concern grows inJapanover any threat posed to neighbouring Taiwan by China.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and USPresident Joe Biden issued a joint statement this month addressing China's growing assertiveness and the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait following their first face-to-face meeting in Washington since both became leaders of their countries.

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Including theQueenElizabethwith 18 F-35B stealth fighters, two destroyers, two frigates and two support ships, the Britishcarrierstrike group will have to sail through the contested South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by China and South East Asian countries, on its way to East Asia. The ships will also stop in India and Singapore.

It will be joined by vessels from the United States and a frigate from the Netherlands and will carry out exercises with forces fromJapan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, the UAE, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel, India, Oman and South Korea, the British government said in a news release.

Other foreign ships currently in Asian waters include a French amphibiouscarrierand two USnavyaircraftcarriers, one of which, the USS Ronald Reagan, is based inJapan. A close Washington ally,Japanhosts the biggest concentration of USmilitary forces outside the United States, including warships, planes and thousands of marines.

The latest, and so far most conspicuous,visittoJapanby British forces follows earlierdeploymentof warships, jet fighters and troops for joint training exercises as London and Tokyo look to strengthen defence ties.