The US Coast Guard announced that several Chinese military warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska over the weekend.
According to a statement released on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard detected three Chinese vessels about 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands and another vessel approximately 84 miles (135 kilometers) north of the Amukta Pass, which is a strait connecting the Bering Sea to the North Pacific Ocean.
The US Coast Guard clarified that all four Chinese vessels were operating “in international waters but still within the US exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the US shoreline.”
Rear Admiral Megan Dean of the US Coast Guard noted that the Chinese naval presence adhered to international rules and norms.
She added, “We met presence with presence to ensure there were no disruptions to US interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”
In response to US Coast Guard radio communications, the Chinese vessels indicated that their mission was related to “freedom of navigation operations.”
The US Coast Guard’s cutter Kimball monitored the ships until they moved south of the Aleutian Islands into the North Pacific Ocean.
The Kimball continues to oversee activities within the US exclusive economic zone to safeguard US vessels and international commerce in the area.
This incident follows a similar situation from last August, when the US deployed four navy warships and a reconnaissance airplane in response to a joint naval patrol by Chinese and Russian military vessels near Alaska.
At that time, the flotilla, considered the largest to approach US territory, was deemed a “highly provocative” action amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and rising political tensions between the US and China over Taiwan.
