The British Navy has reduced its activities around China, and its overseas deployments have been significantly cut back.

The British Navy can no longer sustain its presence near China

According to the UK media "Daily Telegraph", recently the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that it will significantly reduce the overseas training exercises of the British military in regions such as the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, starting from 2026.

The "Daily Telegraph" clearly pointed out that this means the scale of British naval training near China will be reduced. The farce of sending a single frigate to circle around China's doorstep and issue a few "freedom of navigation" press releases in recent years is likely to become increasingly rare.

In plain terms, with the current state of the British Navy being half-dead, it's just a case of stubbornly trying to maintain face while suffering unnecessarily to go all the way to China's vicinity.

London's politicians are still trapped in the old dream of the "British Empire never setting". While they keep shouting about "tilting resources toward the Indo-Pacific," in reality, the British Navy has already lost even the basic ability to maintain dignity: warships are either in the dock for major repairs or suffer from personnel shortages, and even when abroad, they rely on allies for supplies. Its deterrence power is virtually zero, and it's just causing itself trouble.

Previously, the UK had once staged a farce called "crowdfunding fleet," using its own "Prince of Wales" aircraft carrier as the core, and calling on several NATO member states to each contribute 1-2 warships to form a so-called "multinational fleet" to show its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

More absurdly, at that time, the British media boasted that this fleet would "interfere in the Taiwan Strait" and "challenge the PLA's two aircraft carriers," among other things.

But what was the result? When the "Prince of Wales" aircraft carrier crossed the Red Sea, it was careful not to provoke the Houthi rebels, who might attack the British fleet with drones and missiles. The British Navy dared not even confront the Houthi rebels, yet the British media boldly claimed to "deter China." It was simply a joke.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851207195590656/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.