UK to Expand Pacific Naval Presence to Counter Beijing

The UK will expand its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific in an effort to counter China’s growing influence, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced.

HMS Tamar leaves Portsmouth, England, on Dec. 31, 2020. Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

The United Kingdom will expand its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific in an effort to counter China’s growing influence, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in Samoa on Oct. 26 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) meeting.

The move, which supports U.S.-led efforts, will include more Royal Navy operations and joint fishing patrols with Pacific island countries to counter illegal fishing, of which China is the world’s biggest perpetrator.