A combined Chinese and Russian naval convoy, including a guided missile cruiser and a destroyer, has been spotted near an island in Alaska by the US Coast Guard.
Two others Chinese warships and three Russian warships were sighted in the Bering Sea in a single formation 86 miles (138 km) from Kiska Island by the United States Coast Guard Cutter Kimball.
The Honolulu-based ship monitored the vessels before they broke formation and scattered.
A C-130 Hercules provided air support from Coast Guard Station Kodiak.
“While the training operated in accordance with international rules and standards, we will meet presence with presence to ensure there is no disruption of U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska,” said Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District.
The Coast Guard said Operation Frontier Sentinel guidelines call for “presence with presence” when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters.
The incident came a month after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned of China’s interest in the Arctic and Russia’s growing military buildup in the region.
He said Russia had set up a new Arctic command and opened hundreds of new and old Soviet-era Arctic military sites, including deep-sea ports and airfields.
China has declared itself a “near Arctic” state, he added, and plans to build the world’s largest icebreaker.
“Beijing and Moscow are also committed to intensifying practical cooperation in the Arctic. This is part of a deep strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests,” Stoltenberg said during a visit to northern China. Canada.
This is not the first time that Chinese navy ships have sailed near Alaskan waters.
In September 2021, coast guards from the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese vessels about 80 km off the Aleutian Islands.