2024-07-13 03:30:49
Washington: The US Coast Guard has said it spotted several Chinese warships off the coast of Alaska this weekend, sparking heightened security measures along coastal areas across the United States. In a statement released Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said it detected three vessels about 124 miles (200 km) north of Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands and another about 84 miles (135 km) north of Amchitka Pass, a strait between the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean.
Chinese warships were away from American waters
According to the US Coast Guard, all four Chinese ships were “transiting in international waters but were still inside the US Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the US coastline.” “The Chinese naval presence operated in accordance with international rules and norms,” R Admiral Megan Dean of the US Coast Guard said. “We confronted the presence with a sense of urgency to ensure there was no disruption to US interests in the maritime environment around Alaska,” she added.
What did the Chinese warships say when America warned them?
Responding to the US Coast Guard’s radio communications, the Chinese ships said their objective was “freedom of navigation operations.” The US Coast Guard said, “Coastguard cutter Kimball continued to monitor all vessels until they moved from south of the Aleutian Islands into the North Pacific Ocean. Kimball continues to monitor activities in the US Exclusive Economic Zone to ensure the safety of US ships and international commerce in the region.”
Chinese warships were also seen near Alaska
Last August, the US sent four Navy warships in addition to a reconnaissance aircraft after several Chinese and Russian military vessels conducted a joint naval patrol near Alaska. At the time, the US Navy fleet deployed against the Chinese warships was described as a “highly provocative” maneuver amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine as well as political tensions between the US and China over Taiwan.