London/Beijing – The British aircraft carrier ‘HMS Queen Elizabeth’ arrived in the South China Sea with its ‘Carrier Strike Group’, defying repeated warnings from China. The British naval mission has invited strong reactions from the Chinese media and analysts. The Global Times ridiculed that the United Kingdom is a pet dog of the United States. At the same time, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has launched two simultaneous exercises to threaten Britain in the South China Sea.
In the wake of China’s increasingly hegemonic actions in the South China Sea, the United Kingdom has indicated a greater focus on the Indo-Pacific region over the past few years. As part of this, the United Kingdom announced the deployment of its new aircraft carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, in the South China Sea. China reacted sharply to the United Kingdom’s announcement. China had warned that the action by the United Kingdom could hurt relations between the two countries. In the past few months, China has repeatedly tried to pressurise the United Kingdom over the issue.
