1 of 8 | Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales arrives at Japan’s Tokyo International Cruise Terminal on Thursday. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
The HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier led the U.K. Carrier Strike Group 25 to visit Japan’s capital city and host dignitaries, politicians, defense partners and the public.
Sailors lined the carrier’s flight deck as the HMS Prince of Wales and other vessels entered Tokyo Bay while onlookers watched from nearby bridges and other viewpoints on Thursday.
“After a brief but busy period of planned maintenance in Yokosuka, it’s a huge privilege to bring the Royal Navy fleet flagship into the center of Tokyo,” said Capt. Will Blackett, commanding officer of the HMS Prince of Wales, in a news release.
The strike group participated in joint sea exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and underwent maintenance at a Japanese port facility before sailing to Tokyo Bay.
“It has been great to see what we can do together and our commitment to working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region,” Blackett said. “Japan has been an incredible place to visit.”
The carrier strike group’s arrival occurred while U.K. Defense Secretary John Healy was in Tokyo for bilateral talks with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
The 65,000-ton HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest ship and visited Tokyo for the first time amid a nine-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.
The vessel has led Operation Highmast, which involves a dozen nations as the strike force passed through the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.
The strike force has made stops in Singapore and Australia during the first half of Operation Highmast and now is focused on Asia.
The operation’s aim is to demonstrate the United Kingdom’s resolve to provide security in the Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean regions.
The deployment involved about 4,500 British military personnel, including 600 Royal Air Force, 900 soldiers and 2,500 sailors and Royal Marines.
