(Adds details)
TOKYO, April 26 (Reuters) - Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth
aircraft carrier will lead a flotilla of Royal Navy ships
through Asian waters on port visits to Japan and South Korea on
its maiden deployment, the British embassy in Tokyo said on
Monday.
The high-profile visits, aimed at bolstering security ties
in East Asia, come amid tensions in the region as concern grows
in Japan over any threat posed to neighbouring Taiwan by China.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President
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.
Including the Queen Elizabeth with 18 F-35B stealth
fighters, two destroyers, two frigates and two support ships,
the British carrier strike 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 from Japan, 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 amphibious carrier and two U.S. navy aircraft carriers,
one of which, the USS Ronald Reagan, is based in Japan. A close
Washington ally, Japan hosts the biggest concentration of U.S.
military forces outside the United States, including warships,
planes and thousands of marines.
The latest, and so far most conspicuous, visit to Japan by
British forces follows earlier deployment of warships, jet
fighters and troops for joint training exercises as London and
Tokyo look to strengthen defence ties.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Catherine Evans and Ed
Osmond)