On Monday, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said that Britain “may have to intervene” in the future to confront China, which he claimed is “resurgent” in rebuilding its armed forces.
10 Downing Street has distanced itself from UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson’s remarks that the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, will be deployed to disputed waters in the Pacific where China is embroiled in an ongoing dispute over navigation rights.
In August, the Royal Navy’s HMS Albion, an amphibious assault ship, passed through Chinese-claimed areas in the South China Sea en route to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam, prompting a furious response from Beijing.