"They're pretending to kill us": HMS Prince of Wales "harassed" by China ships in contested waters amid drills

HMS Prince of Wales, currently at the helm of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG), was stalked by Beijing military forces in the South China Sea. Fighter jets also performed simulated missile attacks on a British vessel as it passed through the Taiwan Strait.

The Times reports that HMS Richmond was the object of “constructive kills”, when a military plane performs the manoeuvres necessary to launch an attack but does not launch a missile. The UKCSG was tracked by Chinese ships as it sailed through the disputed Spratly Islands. President Xi Jinping has ordered for military bases to be built on part of the archipelago, despite claims by nations including The Philippines.

Radio warnings were blared in English to Royal Navy and RAF assets, ordering them to leave. Sub-lieutenant Rohan Lewis, officer of the watch on HMS Prince of Wales, told the national publication: “The Chinese were trying to harass us, four or five of them trying to get close. They tried to push us a little bit to see how far they can go.”

The “constructive kills” were dummy attacks in defiance to Royal Navy ships upholding navigational freedoms, something British vessels are regularly tasked to uphold. “It’s them pretending to kill us,” a HMS Prince of Wales officer added. “It’s an info-war operation — they want us to know they’re targeting us. We were expecting a reaction but not of a violent nature — we were confident that they wouldn’t really fire a missile.”

British forces are continuing Operation Highmast, an eight-month deployment which began after HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Dauntless left Portsmouth on April 22. Their goal is to aid their allies with security matters in the Indo-Pacific, while testing the nation's full suite of military capabilities and completing diplomatic missions.

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Through permanently deployed patrol ships, HMS Spey and HMS Tamar, the Royal Navy upholds freedom of navigation rights for all sailors under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). A 2016 ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, said the South China Sea is governed by international maritime laws.

Despite this, China sees this and the Taiwan Strait as part of its sphere of influence and has repeatedly warned western powers operating there. The People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command previously accused the UK and USA of “trouble-making” and “provocation”.

HMS Prince of Wales is currently carrying out Exercise Bersama Lima alongside forces from Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand.