News by Jamie Seidel 10th May 2021 4:47 AM | Updated: 6:41 AM Britain's biggest naval task force since the Falklands War is headed our way. And its centrepiece, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, is sailing into uncertain waters. Gunboat diplomacy has dominated news feeds in recent months. Regular US deployments of its nuclear-powered behemoths - including a rare double act - to the South China Sea has focussed attention on the region's troubles. Then, in April, the PLAN Liaoning deployed for the first time as the hub of a powerful Chinese carrier battle group circling Taiwan. A few days later, Beijing's first home-built aircraft carrier, Shandong, held combat exercises in the South China Sea.