The U.S. Coast Guard has spotted multiple Chinese warships off the coast of Alaska, officials said in a news release on Wednesday.
Three of the vessels were spotted about 124 miles north of Amchitka Strait in the Aleutian Islands, while the fourth vessel was spotted about 84 miles north of Amucuta Strait in the state. The vessels were spotted Saturday and Sunday.
All four vessels were on the high seas, but within the U.S. exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the U.S. coast, where the United States has exclusive rights to explore and use marine resources, according to the Coast Guard.
All four vessels were “operating in accordance with international regulations and norms,” according to Rear Adm. Megan Dean, the Coast Guard’s district commander.
United States Coast Guard
Dean said the Chinese vessels said they were in the area conducting “freedom of navigation operations” when the Coast Guard contacted them to “ensure there is no interference with U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”
The Navy’s presence was tracked by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball, a 418-foot national security vessel that has previously conducted joint exercises in the Indo-Pacific. The ship is in the region as part of the Coast Guard’s exercise Operation Frontier Sentinel, which is “designed to counter presence with presence against strategic competitors as they operate in and around U.S. territorial waters,” according to the Coast Guard.
Officials said the Kimball will monitor all Chinese vessels until they leave the U.S. exclusive economic zone and will continue to patrol the area.
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years. September 2022In August 2023, a U.S. Navy Coast Guard patrol vessel encountered a Chinese surface activity group. Four destroyers were sent to the coast of Alaska. Eleven Chinese and Russian warships were spotted patrolling international waters within their exclusive economic zones.
