ROYAL Navy patrols are being stepped up in the Indo-Pacific to counter the growing threat of Chinese aggression.
Sir Keir Starmer said the increased visible presence of vessels is vital to British security.
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His intervention, to protect maritime routes and Pacific economies, comes after a foreign policy review last year identified China as an “epoch-defining challenge”.
The PM, meeting Commonwealth leaders in Samoa, said: “As responsible international players, we cannot turn a blind eye to the challenges faced by our friends and partners on the other side of the world.
“So my message today is clear: this is just the beginning of our commitment to the Indo-Pacific.
“I truly believe we can create unique opportunities for people both in the Pacific and at home, and in doing so, we play our part in ensuring a safer, fairer world.”
The UK has two patrol vessels permanently in the region — HMS Spey and HMS Tamar.
And the Carrier Strike Group will visit Singapore next year to strengthen ties there.
China’s President Xi Jinping has just joined other heads of government at the BRICS summit in Russia, where Vladimir Putin desperately tried to show that attempts to isolate him over his Ukraine invasion are not working.
The Sun reported in February that China had crafted an unstoppable military under Xi Jinping’s ruthless dictatorship which posed the greatest threat to the world order.
As the West steels itself for global conflict, Europe is struggling to keep up with Beijing’s formidable £175billion army and nuclear arsenal.
And experts warned The Sun that while Europe is focused on the raging war in Ukraine, China is ramping up its ability to unleash the full might of its forces on an unsuspecting West.
