On Wednesday (July 10), US officials revealed that a patrol boat of the United States Coast Guard discovered several Chinese military ships in the Bering Sea during a routine patrol. The area is considered international waters but is located within the US Exclusive Economic Zone.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the US Coast Guard stated in a release that their crew spotted three ships north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, approximately 124 miles (200 kilometers) away. Shortly after, a helicopter from the Coast Guard Kodiak Station located a fourth ship about 84 miles (135 kilometers) north of the Amukta Pass.
The statement highlighted that all four Chinese ships were simply passing through international waters, but they were still within the US Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the US coastline.
Rear Admiral Megan Dean, Commander of the US Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District, stated, “The presence of the Chinese navy is in accordance with international rules and norms… We respond to presence with our own presence to ensure that US interests in the maritime environment around Alaska are not disturbed.”
This is not the first time that Chinese navy vessels have been observed navigating near the waters of Alaska.
In September 2022, the US Coast Guard Cutter Kimball encountered a Chinese Type 055 destroyer in the Bering Sea, followed by the discovery of this warship along with two other Chinese vessels and four Russian ships, including a destroyer, sailing in formation within the US Exclusive Economic Zone.
Following the detection of Russian and Chinese ships, the US Coast Guard stated that the crew of the Kimball was acting in accordance with the guidance of an operation called “Operation Frontier Sentinel,” which mandates responding with presence when strategic competitors are active in US waters and their vicinity.
In September 2021, a US Coast Guard patrol vessel encountered Chinese ships approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific.
The first sighting of Chinese naval vessels in the vicinity of the Bering Sea, located in the Pacific Ocean, occurred in 2015. Reports indicated that this incident coincided with former US President Obama’s visit to Alaska, during which several Chinese military ships were spotted in the region.