UK to permanently assign two OPVs to Indo-Pacific region

The United Kingdom will permanently assign two Royal Navy (RN) River-class Batch II offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) to the Indo-Pacific region later this year, UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said on 20 July during a two-day visit to Japan.

In a statement issued by the British Embassy in Tokyo, Wallace noted that the move will follow on from the inaugural deployment to the region of Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) – led by the RN aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth – adding that the UK will also contribute a Littoral Response Group in the coming years, demonstrating the country's “commitment to collective defence and security in the region in the decades ahead”.

The two OPVs – HMS Spey and HMS Tamar – will sail west to the Indo-Pacific region at the end of August. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the vessels would be “supported by partners during their operations, including Australia, Japan and Singapore”.

Janes understands that planning is also under way to establish the Littoral Response Group (South) by 2023. This group will be permanently based in the Indian Ocean.

Speaking about CSG21, Wallace, who met in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minster Suga and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, said that vessels comprising the carrier group will visit five Japanese ports in September following exercises with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off Japan.

In a separate statement, the MoD in Tokyo pointed out that HMS Queen Elizabeth