The commander of the Royal Navy's UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG) has said he is "ready for all eventualities from a combat capability" as British ships begin a deployment in the Indo-Pacific - with transit through the contentious 180km-wide Taiwan Strait not ruled out. The international formation of Royal Navy warships is setting off from Portsmouth on Tuesday on an eight-month deployment known as Operation Highmast, which will involve some 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy, 592 from the Royal Air Force, and 900 from the army.
The mission will take the fleet across the Mediterranean, Middle East, Indian Ocean, and into the Pacific, and include exercises and port visits with allied nations, including the...
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