Permanent.

This is coolbert:

East of Singapore? British military forces a permanent Pacific presence. Would have been out of the question just a few years ago. 

From the Internet web site "Breitbart" and thanks to same.

"Britain ‘Tilts’ East: Will Deploy Warships in Asia Permanently, Challenge Chinese Territory Claims"

"The United Kingdom has the right to sail its latest aircraft carrier anywhere in the world international law permits and will do so, the country has said just weeks before it is due to travel through the contested South China Sea."

This is all obviously a response to the tension currently existing in the South China Sea. Chinese claims to the area as sovereign territorial waters problematic.

The current voyage of the British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth in part the mission FONOP. Freedom of Navigation Operation. Freedom of the seas as a concept at question here and in conflict with Chinese claims to the South China Sea. A conflict that cannot be ignored.

I guess many in the Royal Navy [RN] now are also scratching their heads and wondering where exactly are more ships to be found to execute FONOP and Freedom of the Seas missions.

"Troops. Where do I get more troops?" "Ships. Where do I get more ships?"

coolbert.