UK aircraft carrier docks at Marina Bay Cruise Centre in first formal port call in the region
People watch as Britain's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Centre on June 23. PHOTO: REUTERS
A F-35 aircraft is parked onboard Britain's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Centre on June 23. PHOTO: REUTERS
A military band performs as Britain's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Centre on June 23. PHOTO: REUTERS
UK aircraft carrier docks at Marina Bay Cruise Centre in first formal port call in the region
SINGAPORE - British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, one of the largest warships in the world, has docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre.
The carrier, whose flight deck is large enough to fit three football pitches, is making its first formal port call in the region at the head of a group of ships on a multi-nation, UK-led deployment.
While docked in Singapore, the warship will play host to some 8,000 members of the public who balloted for free tickets earlier in the year, as well as a series of activities.
This includes a defence and security industry day, where some 30 UK businesses will hold an expo in the carrier's hanger, as well as a science and technology symposium where experts from both countries will discuss technological developments.
The carrier will also host panel discussions on defence and security, and a friendly e-sports tournament between UK and Singapore soldiers.
The arrival of the HMS Prince of Wales is a critical demonstration of the UK's commitment to the Indo-Pacific, said British High Commissioner Nikesh Mehta.
The visit comes amid a tumultuous global environment, where there is a 'need to demonstrate the importance of stability around the world, stability in the Indo-Pacific, and stability in the Euro-Atlantic', Mr Mehta said at a media briefing on June 19 ahead of the carrier's arrival.
Britain's position is that stability in the Indo-Pacific and in the Euro-Atlantic are indivisible, he added. 'You can't have one without the other, and that's why the carrier strike group coming to this part of the world is so important.'
The aircraft carrier is the flagship of the UK carrier strike group, which includes several other UK Royal Navy vessels, as well as ships from Canada, Norway and Spain, amongst others.
Its visit to Singapore is part of an eight month deployment called Operation Highmast that departed from the UK in April, with the ships sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Its route has included the Mediterranean, and along the way the group has conducted joint exercises, such as with the Indian Navy.
The HMS Prince of Wales is one of two aircraft carriers currently operated by UK Navy – two of the largest ever built for the service, with a displacement of 65,000 tonnes and measuring 284m in length. It can carry up to 1,600 soldiers and 36 advanced F-35B fighter jets and four Merlin Helicopters.
Its sister ship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, visited Singapore in 2021, as part of the deployment of the UK's first carrier strike group.
A F-35 aircraft is parked onboard Britain's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Centre on June 23.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Visit marks 'momentous' year for Singapore-UK relations: ambassador
Besides Singapore, the HMS Prince of Wales is set to visit several other ports in the region including Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, and will take part in several joint exercises, including with the Singapore Armed Forces.
In July, the carrier is set to join Exercise Talisman Sabre, an Australia-led exercise involving the US and other regional militaries.
On its way back to home waters in September, it will participate in the Five Power Defence Arrangements' (FDPA) signature annual exercise, Bersama Lima.
The FPDA consists of the Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK, and was established in 1971 when the British left the city state.
The last time a UK aircraft carrier joined the FPDA's drills was in 1997, when HMS Invincible participated in Exercise Flying Fish, the first time the grouping conducted a combined maritime and air exercise.
Head of the British Defence Staff for South-east Asia Colonel Eddie Maskell-Pedersen said HMS Prince of Wales' visit to Marina Bay is the latest in a series of security exchanges between the UK and Singapore this year.
There have been reciprocal visits from senior military leadership on both sides, and in May Singapore frigate RSS Formidable docked in London's Canary Wharf, he noted.
'(This) provides a clear statement of the importance of the relationship between the UK and Singapore: the partnership we have had, we are moving towards, and hopefully the momentum we would like to continue as partners for the future,' he said on June 19.
In response to a question on the carrier's agenda and the UK's security involvement in the region, Col Maskell-Pederson, who is also the UK's defence advisor to Singapore, said Britain is not new to South-east Asia or to exercising in it.
'That's why our contribution, our commitment to FPDA since 1971 for 54 years now, is so important,' he said.
'And that's why the carrier strike group, and elements thereof, will participate in Exercise Bersama Lima because it's an important relationship. It's an important partnership that we are part of, and we want to continue to be committed to that.'
A military band performs as Britain's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Centre on June 23.
PHOTO: REUTERS
At the same briefing, UK Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific Martin Kent said the visit highlights the UK's commitment to building 'mutual prosperity and security in this region'.
The UK is working with partners in the Indo-Pacific to promote and protect the international rules-based order, he added.
He said: 'With defense and security exports to the Asia Pacific region worth over 2.1 billion pounds ($3.6 million) in 2023 our commitment to this region is both substantial and enduring.'
Mr Mehta, the ambassador, said the carrier's arrival is a 'vital cog' in a 'momentous' year for Singapore-UK relations.
The two countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations, which the visit also commemorates.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
South Korea's Lee says Middle East situation is ‘very urgent'
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on his senior aides to prepare additional measures that could be incorporated into an extra budget already proposed if needed. PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on June 23 that the situation in the Middle East was 'very urgent' and financial markets were becoming unstable due to increasing uncertainty. Mr Lee also called on his senior aides to prepare additional measures that could be incorporated into an extra budget already proposed if needed. Major share indexes slipped in Asia on June 23 and oil prices briefly hit five-month highs as investors anxiously waited to see if Iran would retaliate against US attacks on its nuclear sites, with resulting risks to global activity and inflation. 'First of all, the situation in the Middle East is very urgent. I think that all ministries, including the presidential office, should prepare an emergency response system to promptly handle,' Mr Lee told his senior secretaries. The president expressed concern that rising oil prices could lead to higher inflation that would take a toll on people's livelihoods. Earlier on June 23 , a vice industry minister flagged concerns over the potential impact on the country's trade from the recent US strikes on Iran. South Korea is Asia's fourth-largest economy and depends heavily on exports. Seoul has deepened its reliance on crude oil imports from the Middle East, which accounted for 72 per cent of the country's total crude imports in 2023. Market participants are bracing for further oil price hikes amid fears that an Iranian retaliation may include the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global crude supply flows. Mr Lee had decided not to attend a Nato summit this week due to what his office described as uncertainties caused by the Middle East situation. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
How middlemen funnel illegal Chinese vapes into the United States
LONDON/NEW YORK/CHICAGO - From an office a 15-minute drive from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, one small firm helped import millions of unauthorized Chinese-made vapes last year alone, forming a key link in the supply chain feeding U.S. demand for illegal e-cigarettes. In a little over four years, the firm, a customs brokerage run by a man named Jay Kim, became a go-to broker for the Chinese vape industry. The firm worked on 60% of all shipments of vapes and vape parts from China to the U.S. in 2024 registered by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a Reuters analysis. "A lot of them have FDA authorization," Kim said in an interview in his office in April, referring to the vape shipments his firm handled. However, FDA data on imports into the U.S. of FDA-regulated goods such as tobacco products or medicines showed the products Kim's firm helped bring into the United States included unauthorized brands like Lost Mary and Geek Bar. The FDA has declared those brands illegal to import or sell, warning their array of fruit and candy flavors may appeal to children. The agency says nicotine can harm developing brains, and impact attention, learning and mood in young people, who can get hooked more easily on the addictive chemical. A Lost Mary spokesperson said it had no connection or contact with Kim's firm, and flavors play a key role in helping adult users quit smoking. The maker of Geek Bar did not respond to a request for comment. The Chinese city of Shenzhen is the biggest source of vapes, both legal and illegal, coming into the United States. In 2024, China exported more than 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in vapes to the U.S., according to Chinese customs data. But U.S. customs figures show only $333 million in Chinese vapes were officially received in the U.S. that same year. Mismatches in custom data between the U.S. and its trading partners are not uncommon, but a 90% gap was unusual, two customs data specialists told Reuters. Unauthorized vapes often arrive in the U.S. disguised as other items like shoes and toys, according to the FDA, which leads efforts to control the vape market. Reuters used FDA and U.S. customs data, interviews with vape and tobacco industry insiders, and information from U.S. regulators and law enforcement to build a picture of how unauthorized vapes make their way onto U.S. shelves. It found a group of middlemen based on U.S. soil - including some customs brokers and distributors - who played key roles in the vape supply chain, and sometimes take steps to avoid detection. Trump Administration officials have promised a crackdown; FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has said the agency will stop illegal imports and distribution. "Our borders have been far too porous when it comes to challenges like illegal e-cigarette products coming from other countries," an FDA spokesperson said, adding that the agency is planning to use artificial intelligence to "stem the flow of products that are appealing to our nation's children." In May, the FDA and Customs and Border Protection announced a $34 million seizure of unauthorized vapes in Chicago. Officials found many of the shipments in the seizure, which took place in February, contained vague product descriptions and incorrect values. As part of the operation, for the first time, the agency sent letters to 24 middlemen involved in the vape supply chain, including U.S. importers and customs brokers. The letters warned the middlemen it was a crime to make false statements to the government, and asked them to explain how they ensured they followed tobacco laws, according to the FDA. Reuters was not able to establish whether Kim was among the customs brokers who received a letter from the FDA. He did not respond to detailed questions about Reuters' findings. VAPE MIDDLEMEN Customs brokers do not buy or sell goods themselves. Rather, they are paid by others, usually the importer, to help navigate the customs process by submitting documents and fielding enquiries from border officials, according to Lenny Feldman, a managing partner at the law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. Customs brokers may be breaking the law if they are found to have not conducted proper due diligence, said Feldman. Speaking briefly to Reuters at his office in April, Kim said his firm did not deal with vape shipments anymore after exiting the business last year. He said that a former employee of his firm had gotten him into working with vape clients and took those customers with her when she left. However, the FDA data reviewed by Reuters showed that vape-related shipments handled by Kim have continued throughout 2025, including in June. The FDA, which was directed to fire 3,500 employees in March, works with CBP to catch unauthorized vape shipments at the border. A spokesperson for CBP told Reuters the agency seized over 3 million units of illegal vapes valued at $76 million in 2024. 'CBP has encountered bad actors exploiting shipments to transit illicit goods, including illegal vapes, synthetic opioids, precursor chemicals and related paraphernalia,' the spokesperson said. The FDA said that over the past two years, efforts by FDA and CBP had led to the seizure of around 7.1 million e-cigarettes with an estimated retail value of over $136 million. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the administration would "wipe out" fruity and sweet flavored vapes from China that appeal to kids. "We are going to get rid of all of them," he told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in May. Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said middlemen like Kim bear some responsibility for the flood of vapes, but lays most of the blame with the FDA, which he accuses of sitting idle while illegal vapes flood into the country. "The FDA is a disaster. It's asleep at the switch," he said. "You have illicit vapes all over the place." IN PLAIN SIGHT The Trump Administration's tariffs on China, as well as vape seizures, have already dented supply, Reuters reported this month. Vape shipments recorded by the FDA collapsed in May, with a shortage of popular brand Geek Bar in particular. The FDA has authorized 34 different vape products made by companies like British American Tobacco and Altria, but no fruity or sweet flavored vapes that the FDA says could appeal to children. And yet executives at BAT estimate unauthorized devices make up 70% of vape sales in the U.S., valuing their sales at $8.14 billion last year. The supply chain ferrying illegal Chinese-made vapes into the U.S. mostly operates in plain sight. It starts with a network of exporters based in China. After a vape shipment clears customs in the U.S., it is passed along to its U.S. buyer - usually a distributor, which then sells them to smaller wholesalers and retailers nationwide. The FDA collects data on U.S.-based recipients of vape shipments. The largest in 2024 was Reynolds American, the U.S. subsidiary of BAT. But the top ten largest U.S. vape recipients also included six obscure firms, opened in 2023 or 2024 and sometimes operating out of residential homes. The second-largest recipient of vape shipments in 2024 was a Chicago-based company called Somo Trade LLC, established in 2023, Reuters analysis of FDA data and state business filings show. A woman at the business' address, a residential home on Chicago's north side, told a Reuters reporter that the property was not involved in the vape business. Another recipient of vapes, Rongda Trade, is registered to a house on the same street as Somo Trade, opened the same month, and has already been shut down, its filings show. No one answered the door when Reuters visited the address. No one answered at a residential address linked to Lila Trade on Chicago's southwest side, either. The name of the registered agent, Xiaohong Dai, was not among those listed on four mailboxes out front. Reuters could not find websites for any of the firms, and their state business filings did not contain any contact information. Meanwhile, in February, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued 13 different companies which she said were major U.S. vape distributors, accusing them of working closely with Chinese manufacturers to fuel the unauthorized vape industry. "Together, Defendants have established an industry for flavored e-cigarettes, particularly disposable vapes, and staked out their own lucrative shares in the soaring market," the complaint states. "All have engaged in reprehensible, illegal conduct and aim to addict youth to their products." Mitch Zeller, former head of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, placed the blame on U.S.-based distributors, such as those named in James' lawsuit, for feeding demand. "There's only a handful of middlemen, middle companies, that are responsible for taking the illegal, imported stuff being misclassified and mislabeled and getting it into interstate commerce," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
S. Korea's President Lee names first civilian defence minister in decades
South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung named veteran lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back as the country's first civilian defence minister in 64 years on June 23. PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL - South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung named veteran lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back as the country's first civilian defence minister in 64 years on June 23, making good on a campaign promise made after martial law in December 2024 shook faith in the military. Mr Lee, who took office on June 4 after winning a snap election called when former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over the martial law attempt, also named 10 other cabinet ministers including former UN ambassador Cho Hyun as foreign minister and North Korea diplomacy advocate Chung Dong-young as unification minister, his office said. Mr Yoon's defence minister Kim Yong-hyun played a leading role in recommending and planning the martial law, and is in jail amid an ongoing trial on insurrection charges. The nominations, which do not require parliamentary approval but will be reviewed in at-times contentious hearings, come as Mr Lee works to form a new cabinet and staff his office. He took office the day after the election without a transition period, as Mr Yoon was ousted in April for breaching the duties of his office with December 2024's martial law declaration, which he reversed after parliament defied him. Mr Lee has worked with an acting prime minister and a cabinet carried over from Mr Yoon's administration as he tackles the job of uniting a bitterly divided country and formulating a response to US President Donald Trump's new tariffs. He has pledged to pursue diplomacy pillared on pragmatism with a focus on support for the export-heavy economy's global companies in the fields of automobiles, semiconductors and steelmaking. Earlier this month he named a long-term member of parliament and a key political ally, Mr Kim Min-seok, to be his prime minister, a post that requires parliamentary approval. Mr Lee on June 23 also nominated new ministers for agriculture, environment, labour and maritime affairs, among others. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
