Seeing as much has been made of the 'integrated' nature of the Integrated Review, it's probably worth reminding ourselves that the military is but one of the levers of state power, alongside diplomacy and economics, plus information if you subscribe to US doctrine (I like the DIME mnemonic). As such it is quite possible for the UK to enact an Indo-Pacific foreign policy 'tilt' without much of a military aspect to it. And as you rightly point out, there will not be a great deal available to deploy anyway.
I did have to chuckle at such a concern being raised by as distinguished a long-term advocate for the carriers as WEBF. Many arguments on here over the years have expressed concern that the QEC, undoubtedly 'nice to have' but by no means essential for the UK's most vital military tasks, would prove unduly tempting to politicians eager to deploy them far and wide in support of diplomatic objectives that hitherto have been adequately serviced by smaller vessels (and without taking a sizeable proportion of our available combat aircraft out of the NATO region). And so it looks to be shaping up, with South China Sea FONOPS on the deployment plan.
Last edited by Easy Street; 7th Mar 2021 at 20:14.