U.S. Coast Guard Operation Frontier Sentinel already underway when Chinese ships arrvied in Bering Sea

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Operation Frontier Sentinel was already in progress when two Chinese vessels entered the U.S. exclusive economic zone near Alaska earlier this month, the service said.

“Operation Frontier Sentinel is an operation that responds to strategic competitors operating in and around Alaskan and U.S. Arctic waters,”  the Coast Guard said in emailed comments. 

“[It] was already underway when the Chinese ships were detected.”

The week of July 12, Chinese research vessel Xue Long and the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long 2 transited independently of each other through the U.S. exclusive economic zone and over the U.S. extended continental shelf in the Bering Sea on separate days.

The Coast Guard said the research vessel had a declared destination of the Arctic and the icebreaker was transiting to the Arctic.

In a statement earlier this month about the ships, the Coast Guard stressed that foreign vessels are allowed to operate in the EEZ in accordance with international law but that the Coast Guard “remains vigilant to ensure their activities comply with established international law.” 

The Coast Guard Cutter Munro had radio communication with both ships to clarify their intentions at the time, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

The vessels were monitored during their transit.

First Chinese vessels tracked near Alaska this year

The July transits were the first time this year that Chinese vessels were tracked in the U.S. EEZ and over the U.S. extended continental shelf in the Bering Sea.

Previous years have seen increased Chinese and Russian presence near Alaska, including navy activity and air force activity.

Related stories from around the North: 

Canada: China’s Arctic involvement ‘highly exaggerated,’ Harvard researchers say, The Canadian Press

Denmark: Denmark to provide four F-35 fighter jets to NATO’s Arctic Sentry, Reuters

Finland: Greenland clash left a mark on EU-US relations says Finnish PM, Yle News 

Greenland: New Italy Arctic policy adds U.S. Greenland ambitions to growing Arctic competition narrative, Eye on the Arctic

Iceland: NATO chief to Arctic Allies: “We’re all frontline states now,” as Iceland’s role grows, Eye on the Arctic

Norway: Europeans step up submarine hunting in the North, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Russia claims first-ever North Pole aerial refuelling, TASS reports, Reuters

Sweden: Swedish military intelligence on the great power rivalry over Greenland, Radio Sweden

United States: Russia and China co-operating more often and more closely in the Arctic, says NORAD commander, CBC News