Monday, officials reported that a U.S. Coast Guard ship on normal patrol in the Bering Sea encountered a Chinese guided missile cruiser.
On September 19, the cruiser discovered it was not alone while sailing 86 miles north of Alaska’s Kiska Island.
Two additional Chinese navy vessels and four Russian naval vessels, including a destroyer, were observed in single formation by a patrol boat named Kimball.
During a regular patrol in the Bering Sea, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Kimball discovered a People’s Republic of China…
Monday, September 26, 2022, U.S. Coast Guard Alaska sent the following message:
The 418-foot Kimball, headquartered in Honolulu, observed as the ships broke formation and dispersed. Coast Guard station Kodiak provided air assistance for the Kimball using a C-130 Hercules.
Rear Adm. Nathan Moore, head of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District, stated, “While the formation has operated in compliance with international rules and standards, we will meet presence with presence to ensure there are no interruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime area around Alaska.”
When strategic competitors operate in and near U.S. seas, the Coast Guard’s Operation Frontier Sentinel instructions call for a “presence-for-presence” response.
“The presence of the United States Coast Guard strengthens the international rules-based order and encourages the conduct of activities in accordance with international norms. The Kimball will continue to monitor operations in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to protect the safety of U.S. boats and foreign commerce in the area, notwithstanding the temporary nature of the surface action group “said the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press regarding the incident.
A month prior, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a warning about China’s interest in the Arctic and Russia’s military expansion there.
Stoltenberg stated that Russia has established a new Arctic Command and opened hundreds of new and former Arctic military assets from the Soviet era, including deep-water ports and airfields.
He stated that China has declared itself a “near Arctic” state and will construct the world’s largest icebreaker.
“Beijing and Moscow have also committed to increase their practical Arctic cooperation. This is part of a growing strategic alliance that challenges our beliefs and objectives “Stoltenberg stated during a visit to northern Canada.
Russia has been modernizing its one-of-a-kind civilian fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers in order to realize its profitable Arctic goals. In 2020, Russia debuted the world’s largest and most powerful warship, the Arktika, the new flagship of the fleet.
Not for the first time have Chinese naval vessels traveled near Alaskan seas. In September 2021, Coast Guard cutters encountered Chinese ships approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean.