Concerned HMS Prince of Wales sailors wrote letters home “saying what might happen” while traversing Red Sea

Many of the ship’s company on HMS Prince of Wales were weary of what might have faced them while heading towards the Indo-Pacific. Part of the journey saw them traverse the Red Sea near Yemen, the base of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Militants have been targeting merchant ships over the years with drones and missiles. Portsmouth-based destroyer HMS Diamond shot down many of these threats with her Sea Viper Missile system while she was deployed there.

Lord Vernon Coaker, Labour defence peer, hailed the bravery of those aboard HMS Prince of Wales after she made her way through the pinchpoint Bab-Al Mandab (BAM) strait safely without incident. Speaking to the House of Lords yesterday (July 1), he defended Operation Highmast and stressed the importance of the busy trade route for cargo vessels travelling between Asia and Europe.

Part of the eight-month deployment involves supporting the freedom of navigation in contested waters such as the South China Sea. HMS Spey has already carried out such patrols in the Taiwan Strait. The next step for the UK Carrier Strike Group is Exercise Talisman Sabre off the coast of Australia, a huge military operation involving 19 nations.

In the House of Lords, Liberal Democrat Lord Wallace of Saltaire contested with Lord Coaker over “the global projection of power to Singapore and the South China Sea” given the threats faced locally and regionally. He said: “Are we sure that we still have our priorities right in wanting to stand firm with our prime ally, the United States, in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, or should we pay more attention in our defence priorities to the North Sea, eastern Europe, the Baltic and that part of the world which is closest to our insecurity?”

Lord Coaker responded: “I understand the point he makes, but I do not agree with it. We, with our allies, simply have to guarantee the security of regions across the world, whether it be the North Sea, the Mediterranean or the Indo-Pacific.”

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He added: “Our carrier went through the Red Sea, through the BAM into the Indian Ocean, which is under threat from the Houthis. The sailors and others on the ship had to write a letter home saying what might happen.

“We should celebrate the fact that we have people with a sense of duty that allows them to put their lives in danger to ensure that trade, communication and all the things we depend on can get through that narrow bit of sea. If that did not happen, our shops would soon be empty and our data would not work. Many of the things on which our standard of living depends would not function.”

Lord Coaker went on: “That is why it is important that we go to the Indo-Pacific and stand alongside the Americans. Let us be clear, we do not go there because only we want to – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia want us to go there. All those countries ask us to go there because they recognise the importance of ensuring the global trade routes stay open – it is the trade and prosperity on which our nation, and the nations of the world, depend.”