In this week's podcast Jonathan Dunbar, EMEA Director, is joined by Guo Yu, PhD, Lead APAC Analyst, and John Harley Breen, Lead Global Risks Analyst, to discuss the British-led naval deployment to Asia amid heightened regional tensions. The UK’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth recently deployed as part of a larger naval strike group to the Indo-Pacific in her inaugural operational deployment. The carrier, armed with 5th generation multirole F-35B jets of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Marine Corps (USMC), along with other rotary wing aircraft and a detachment of Royal Marines, will visit 40 countries, including India, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, as part of this 28-week mission. The strike group will also conduct joint exercises with the US and many allies along its voyage. The power-projecting deployment comes amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region, underpinned by the strategic rivalry between China and the US.