Chinese Navy ships had been spotted contained in the U.S. unique financial zone of the Bering Sea by a cutter on a routine patrol late final week, the U.S. Coast Guard mentioned on Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball noticed three ships about 124 miles north of the Amchitka Pass, a strait within the the Aleutian Islands, a distant archipelago that stretches 1,200 miles from the Alaska Peninsular.
The crew of a Coast Guard aircraft stationed on Kodiak Island noticed a fourth Chinese ship 84 miles north of the Amukta Pass, which lies between the islands of Amutka and Seguam.
The Chinese ships had been in worldwide waters, however throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, which stretches 200 nautical miles from the U.S. shoreline, the Coast Guard mentioned in an announcement.
The Coast Guard mentioned that each it and the U.S. Northern Command had been “fully aware” of the Chinese ships’ progress.
“The Kimball patrolled under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Coast Guard operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters,” the assertion mentioned.
“The Chinese naval presence operated in accordance with international rules and norms,” mentioned Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander. “We met presence with presence to ensure there were no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”
The Chinese ships informed the Coast Guard their mission was “freedom of navigation operations.” The Kimball monitored the ships till they went south into the North Pacific Ocean. The Kimball continues to observe the world.
The Coast Guard mentioned its cutters spotted Chinese military ships within the Bering Sea in 2021 and 2022.
China has but to remark publicly on the U.S. Coast Guard’s assertion.
