With much fanfare, a UK carrier strike fleet commenced its maiden deployment in May, in which it is to cover a distance of 26,000 nautical miles and visit 40 countries. The UK government says the fleet is flying the flag for "Global Britain", but from the very beginning it has been the tatty old dreams of empire that have been fluttering feebly at the mast.

And it seems that the delusions of the United Kingdom government are such that even an outbreak of novel coronavirus infections on HMS Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of the UK fleet, cannot shake the heady notion that Britannia still rules the waves, or at least helps to.

Not only has the aircraft carrier had about 100 cases, several other warships in the fleet accompanying it have also reported infections. But the voyage continues, recalling not the days of imperial grandeur but rather the harrowing arrival of plague ships in early times.

It is highly irresponsible of the UK. But then the deployment of the fleet to the South China Sea, along with the provocative sending of a destroyer into Russian territorial waters, does beg the question how much of a grasp on reality does the UK government have, as it seems blithely unaware of the potential consequences of its actions.

Apart from trying to inflate the UK's global image and breathe life into its long-expired big power ambitions, the Boris Johnson government is probably hoping to consolidate the "special relationship" with the United States by adding an extra egg to the pudding of what the US deceptively describes as "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea.

As is known to all — since Washington never tires of making a song-and-dance about it — the US Navy has been making waves in the South China Sea in recent years. The Joe Biden administration has sought to up the ante by encouraging the US' allies to join it in its meddling in the South China Sea.

The presence of its aircraft carrier fleet in the waters shows that the UK is still willing to be the US' yappy little lap dog.

Yet as the warning shots Russia fired across the bow of the UK destroyer should have made clear, the UK is playing a game that could have serious consequences. It should be aware, that in the South China Sea, this is no longer the era in which gunboat policy can pry open a country's door.

The UK should awaken from its midsummer colonial dream. If it wants to realize its much vaunted "Global Britain", it should accept the wind of change has swept the world since the days when it ruled an empire.

It cannot regain what it considers the "glory days" of the past, but if it tacks with the wind and plays a constructive role in the Asia-Pacific region, instead of being a participant in the disruptive antics of the US, it would at least be able to hold its head high as a global-looking Britain.