It's dangerous to go alone! Take Uncle Sam and the Netherlands: Duo join naval task force into China's backyard

HMS Queen Elizabeth is still on track to deploy to the Far East in 2021 – although whether it will actually sail through the South China Sea is yet to be explicitly confirmed – with escorting warships from the US and the Netherlands, according to reports. The UK Defence Journal recently reported that Big Lizzie will rehearse …

[batfink]

I understand there's a nice harbour available

At Hong Kong...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I understand there's a nice harbour available

If we still had HMS Ocean we wouldn't need a harbour.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I understand there's a nice harbour available

What on Earth do you mean "if we still had HMS Ocean we wouldn't need a harbour"?

[Amentheist]

Re: I understand there's a nice harbour available

A LMGTFY later we learn that it was an amphibious assault ship meaning it might not need a dock.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I understand there's a nice harbour available

Ah, it was a lame joke. I see now.

[Korev]

Re: I understand there's a nice harbour available

We should dock some up vote for that....

[phuzz]

Bears

"Multinational poking of bear"

Would that be a panda bear in this analogy? Or maybe Winnie The Pooh?

[Ugotta B. Kiddingme]

Re: Bears

or perhaps Dragons. In many circles:

UK = Lion

USA = Eagle

USSR/RF = Bear

PRC = Dragon

No doubt there are others but those are the ones I can think of immediately.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Bears

https://russia-insider.com/sites/insider/files/styles/1200xauto/public/1975882_Page_.jpg?itok=ae9gWVxf

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Bears

Now now, the bear is Berlin.

Russia has a mutant two-headed eagle. One up to the Americans or way too high level of radiations over there? You decide!

[Ugotta B. Kiddingme]

Re: Now now, the bear is Berlin.

I thought Berlin wäre der Wolf

[phuzz]

Re: Bears

The two-headed eagle generally means it used to be associated with an empire.

It's used by more countries than just Russia, and pops up elsewhere as well.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Bears

New Zealand = Sheep

[MonkeyCee]

Re: Bears

As any fule noes, for the NZ it's a kiwi. With laser eyes.

[Bongwater]

Re: Bears

Can America and England come together and form a gryphon? Please no hippogryph though.

[macjules]

Re: Bears

carrier strike group

More "carrier gentle tap to remind group" I should think.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Bears

For great larger - follow the bear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkR0krOm9M4

[disgruntled yank]

Because ABDA worked so well in 1942?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-British-Dutch-Australian_Command

[SkippyBing]

Re: Because ABDA worked so well in 1942?

Different OPFOR though, it's not as if the Chinese were doing brilliantly in '42 either.

[Danny 2]

the carrier will take around 24 F-35B fighter jets plus helicopters. Thanks to the small size of the Royal Navy and the high value of the carrier,

Hopefully also due to the high value of the crew.

And will these be American F-35Bs, or British and Dutch F-35Bs? If this is just show-boating, an imperial riposte, then surely it would be better to equip it with Spitfires. Maybe a couple of Mini Coopers equipped as submarines. That'd better catch the attention of Chinese investors.

[SkippyBing]

I believe 1 British and 1 US F-35 squadron. The slow build up of UK F-35 is partly explained by there not being much point in buying many pre-Block 4 as they'd need upgrading anyway. Plus the cost is coming down with each successive batch ordered.

[MrXavia]

I'd love to see spitfires flying from it!

[Mark 85]

I'd pay to see some mini-Coopers launched via a the catapults.

[Jimmy2Cows]

I fear that would be impractical; with their ever-increasing size they'll soon weigh more than an F35.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Also, no catapults. But they've got that ski-jump for launching, so you only need a few rockets.

Do the Navy still keep those JATO things around?

[jake]

"Maybe a couple of Mini Coopers equipped as submarines."

Minis? Why use a BMW when the perfectly British[0] Lotus exists?

[0] Or Chinese. Brands aren't what they were when I were a yoof ...

[MJI]

Sub

Now that should worry the Chinese.

An Astute would be unbeatable.

[batfink]

Re: Sub

Providing there are no sandbanks in the South China Sea

[joeW]

Re: Sub

It could certainly worry their fishermen.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/skipper-s-terrifying-experience-of-being-towed-by-submarine-1.2827576

[jake]

Re: Sub

Nope. Fishermen aren't worried about that, any more than they are worried about accidentally getting dragged by whales. And remember, there are more whales in the ocean than submarines.

[Anonymous Coward]

Schtop, schtop!

Thish carrier battlegroup ish not ready yet! Where is the captain’s moustache?

[Anonymous Coward]

Christ 2 type 23, 2 type 45 2 RFS and the QE that's over half the Navy!

[jake]

On the bright side ...

... maintenance is inexpensive.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

> that's over half the Navy!

No we have at least 70 admirals still here

[vtcodger]

Re: > that's over half the Navy!

"The fact is that the number of the officials and the quantity of the work to be done are not related to each other at all. The rise in the total of those employed is governed by Parkinson's Law, and would be much the same whether the volume of the work were to increase, diminish or even disappear." Parkinson's Law -- C Northcote Parkinson 1955

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

The South China sea is British

It's obviously named in English

If it was Chinese it would be named something unreadable and unpronouncable

[Alister]

Re: The South China sea is British

南海 apparently, or Nán zhōngguó hǎi

[Korev]

Re: The South China sea is British

So what you're saying that the Royal Navy should deploy to the Irish Sea so we can "invade" and name after something suitably British?

[vtcodger]

Those are dangerous waters

My guess is that the Chinese will generously provide the round-eye flotilla with a suitable 24/7 escort of modern Chinese warships to ensure that the foreigners come to no harm..

[SkippyBing]

Re: Those are dangerous waters

It'd be awfully nice if they did, intelligence gathering is so much easier when it comes to you.

[96percentchimp]

'...defence secretary Ben Wallace was quoted by the publication as saying: "It is definitely our intention, though, that the carrier strike group will be able to be a wholly UK sovereign deployable group".'

With Trump doing his best to dismantle NATO and the Brexit loons destroying our European alliances, Britain will have no one else to sail with in a few years.

Unless Farage plans to have the Royal Navy join a Russian fleet. I wouldn't put anything past that weasly gobshite.

[Sanguma]

If you go down to ...

the sea today, you'd better not go along

If you go down to the sea today, be safer to stay at home ...

Unbearable, panda-ing to pundamentalists like this ...

At the rate the Royal Navy is growing, the UK will be at pre-Roman Empire spending levels soon!!!

[Kaufman]

The Chinese builds more war ships than the entire navy of the UK every year. Not even the US would dare send a carrier group to poke the dragon. China could simply dispatch a few fishing boats and a couple of their gargantuan coast guard cutters to block the Brits and then they'll be forced to turn around in humiliation.

[jake]

" Not even the US would dare send a carrier group to poke the dragon."

So where, exactly, has the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Group been deployed these last several months?