Plans to send a new aircraft carrier to the Pacific angered Beijing
Britain’s finance minister Philip Hammond has reportedly been forced to cancel a trip to China next week after plans to send a new aircraft carrier to the Pacific angered Beijing.
Hammond was set to visit China for trade talks with senior government figures, but has axed the trip after Beijing reacted angrily this week to news of the warship’s planned deployment, according to British media reports.
Although the visit was never formally announced by London, it had been under preparation for “many weeks,” the Financial Times said.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced on Monday that the first operational mission of Britain’s new US$4 billion aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth would include the Pacific region.
In a strongly worded speech, he said adversaries were challenging “the rules-based international order” while noting that “China is developing its modern military capability and its commercial power”.
