UK shows off military might as Carrier Strike Group arrives in Darwin
The UK’s Carrier Strike Group has arrived in Darwin as it undergoes an eight-month deployment to showcase its commitment to the security of the Indo-Pacific.
Ahead of the fleet’s arrival Britain’s new High Commissioner Dame Sarah MacIntosh talked up the UK-Australia partnership as an “anchor relationship in a dangerous world”.
The prosperity and stability of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions were “indivisible,” she said.
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Operation Highmast, led by Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, embarked on its mission to the Pacific and Australia in late April as a signal of the British Government’s intent to maintain a presence in the Indo-Pacific despite the war in Ukraine on Europe’s doorstep.
The international Task Group is made up of five core ships, 24 F-35 fighter jets, and 17 helicopters, centred around the UK’s flagship aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
Its deployment follows a British Government commitment to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, raising it well above Australia’s projected target of 2.33 per cent by 2033.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer went even further in June, pledging to boost Britain’s overall defence and security spending to five per cent of economic output by 2035 to meet a NATO target – the highest level since the Cold War.
Australia’s Government has so far refused to follow its UK ally to lift its spending any higher, deferring to a defence review next year and a “needs-based” approach despite pressure from the Trump administration to pour 3.5 per cent of GDP into defence spending.
The participation of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group in Australia’s multinational exercise Talisman Sabre comes alongside Britain’s renewed commitment to the $368 billion trilateral AUKUS program to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
British AUKUS envoy Sir Stephen Lovegrove told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute earlier this month that London viewed AUKUS as a “momentous collaboration” between three allies, playing down fears about an ongoing Pentagon review of the landmark project.
More than 3,000 UK personnel are taking part in Talisman Sabre, the largest military exercise Australia has ever hosted, with the participation of 19 countries in total, including the United States.
The UK contingent includes British Army and Royal Air Force units in drills to build towards “full operational capability” of the UK’s carrier strike group, said a statement from the High Commission.
It said the deployment demonstrated British commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific at a time when trade between the UK and the region accounted for 17 per cent of total UK trade in the 12 months to September 2024.
“The visit demonstrates how the UK is delivering on our Strategic Defence Review commitments to the Indo-Pacific,” said Dame Sarah MacIntosh.
“It’s about turning policy into action, together with our allies and partners here in Australia.”
