UK aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth makes first port call in Japan

The flagship of Britain’s Carrier Strike Group arrived at the US Navy base in Yokosuka and is scheduled to depart next Thursday

It will join a joint exercise with Japan, the US, the Netherlands and Canada aimed at boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

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British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth docks at the US Navy base in Yokosuka on September 4, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/Jiji Press

Published: 9:26pm, 4 Sep 2021Updated: 7:39pm, 5 Sep 2021

British aircraft carrier the Queen Elizabeth made its first port call in Japan on Saturday, aiming to showcase the two countries’ defence cooperation in a region where China’s military has been growing increasingly assertive.

Taking part in a joint exercise with Japan, the United States, the Netherlands and Canada, the flagship of Britain’s Carrier Strike Group arrived at the US Navy base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, and is scheduled to depart next Thursday.

The exercise is aimed at strengthening the participating countries’ cooperation toward realising the “free and open Indo-Pacific” initiative led by Tokyo and Washington in a veiled counter to Beijing which is locked in territorial disputes in the East and South China seas with neighbouring countries.

UK aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth docks at the US Navy base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo on September 4, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/Jiji Press

Commodore Steve Moorhouse, commander of the Carrier Strike Group, said in a Twitter video message that the visit is part of Britain’s commitment to strengthen its “diplomatic, economic and security ties in the Indo-Pacific” area, vowing to take the bilateral relationship with Japan “to a whole new level”.

“The Carrier Strike Group’s presence embodies the United Kingdom’s support for the freedom and security of the region’s vital trading routes, and for an international system that benefits all countries,” Moorhouse said.

During the port call, the around 1,240 crew members will not disembark from the warship, according to the Yokosuka city office. The strike group departed Britain in May.