The Chinese Communist Party’s Coast Guard fleet has entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time to conduct joint patrols with Russia, highlighting the increasingly close cooperation between Beijing and Moscow in the region and attracting attention from the United States.
According to state media reports on Wednesday (October 2), four ships traveled from the North Pacific to the Arctic and conducted joint patrols with Russia for the first time in the Arctic region.
The CCTV Military Channel stated on its official Weibo account that these ships, including the “Meishan”, entered the Arctic Ocean during the National Day holiday on Tuesday, marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia.
While Russia has not officially acknowledged it, the US Coast Guard reported that on Saturday (September 28), two Russian and two Chinese ships appeared in the Bering Sea, sailing northeast about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Russia’s exclusive economic zone.
Rear Admiral Megan Dean, commanding the 17th District of the US Coast Guard, said in a statement, “This recent activity demonstrates the increasing interest of our strategic competitors in the Arctic.”
The Bering Sea separates Russia from Alaska and is connected to the Arctic Ocean at its northern end through the Bering Strait. China and Russia have been collaborating on developing Arctic shipping routes.
According to Bloomberg, this joint patrol signifies the escalating interest of China and Russia in the Arctic.
As Russia faces Western sanctions due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they are looking to transport more oil and gas to China to secure additional war funds, while China seeks alternative shipping routes to reduce dependence on the Malacca Strait in Southeast Asia.