Royal Navy: HMS Spey arrives in Japan after training with Korean Navy in back drop to Malaysia mission

The Portsmouth-based offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey is alongside Yokosuka after visiting other nations in the Indo-Pacific. Great Britain and Japan are currently in a co-operation agreement and have planned military exercises in 2025.

Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is scheduled to be deployed and is expected to lead a UK Carrier Strike Group. The countries are aligned under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), where alongside Italy, the nations will deliver a next-generation fighter jet. The aircraft is expected to enter service in 2035.

Sailors aboard HMS Spey, a River-class patrol vessel, are currently working alongside the Republic of Korea Navy in the East China Sea. Tests were carried out Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), a first for the ship’s company.

Previous missions were undertaken in Malaysia, with sailors testing country’s navy while honouring the Five Powers Defence Arrangements - an agreement between Commonwealth nations Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK to protect the region. They also trained alongside Gurkha units in the Philippines in February.