South China Sea: Beijing’s hostile welcome for British fleet

China is hoping to ‘practise’ its military skills on the Queen Elizabeth as it sails through the contested waters of the South China Sea.

British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth.

China’s navy is hoping to “practise” its military skills on the British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth as it sails through the tense and contested waters of the South China Sea, the country’s state media has warned.

In a teasingly sinister message of welcome, the nationalist tabloid Global Times reported that the People’s Liberation Army Navy was holding exercises of its own in two separate parts of the sea, and would react to any “improper acts” by the British fleet. Other Chinese commentary has denounced the British deployment as a pretentious act of neo-colonial chest-thumping.

“The PLA will closely monitor the UK warships’ activities, stand ready to deal with any improper acts, and also see this as a chance for practise and for studying the UK’s latest warships up close,” the Global Times reported, citing an unnamed military expert.

“China receives friends with good wine and deals with wolves with a shotgun,” warned Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, in an article published online on Wednesday.

The passage of the Queen Elizabeth, which is accompanied by an American and Dutch ship as well as its own support vessels, is intended to underline the government’s strategic “tilt” to East Asia at a time of increasing Chinese military assertiveness throughout the region. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said last week that, despite China’s claims to sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, Britain had a “duty” to insist on freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway through which dollars 5 trillion of trade passes every year.

Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, sounded a note of caution about the British tilt towards Asia - hinting at concerns that it overstretches Britain’s armed forces. At a speech in Singapore he emphasised the need for countries with limited resources to “balance” military commitments around the world.

“If, for example, we focus a bit more here [in Asia], are there areas that the UK can be more helpful in other parts of the world?” Austin asked.

The Times