UK May Deploy Warship to Indo-Pacific on Permanent Basis

The UK government is in talks to place a warship to the Indo-Pacific region for a permanent deployment, a British newspaper reported on Monday, citing a government source.

"The future is in Asia. We've got to have a presence in the Pacific to prevent China doing something ridiculous like invading Taiwan," the source was quoted as saying, Sputnik reported.

The UK plans to deploy at least one Type-31 frigate, which will become a tipping point after five decades of UK military power's decline east of Suez, the newspaper added.

Earlier, Japan welcomed NATO's increasing involvement in Indo-Pacific affairs, although Japanese leaders and prime ministers have not participated in NATO summits and ministerial meetings until last year.