Daily US Times: Two Royal Navy warships left the UK on Tuesday for a five-year mission that will, according to a British Defense Ministry statement, see them act as “the eyes and ears” of Britain from the west coast of Africa, to the west coast of the United States.
Lt. Cmdr. Ben Evans, commanding officer of HMS Spey, said: “Two-thirds of the world is our playground.”
HMS Spey is a 300-foot-long and 2,000-ton offshore patrol vessel that will team with HMS Tamar for a mission that is not expected to see them return to their Portsmouth home port until 2026.
While patrolling the waters of Indian oceans and the Pacific, the warships will venture as far south as New Zealand and the Australian state of Tasmania and far north as the Bering Sea.
In the center of that region is China, with whom tensions have been rising up with UK’s top ally, the US.
The UK Defense Ministry statement said: “They will act as the eyes and ears of the Navy — and nation — in the region, working alongside Britain’s allies, carrying out security patrols to deal with drug-running, smuggling, terrorism and other illegal activities, joining in exercises with other navies and armed forces, and flying the flag for Global Britain.”
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