Chinese-Russian Naval Patrol Skirts U.S. Territorial Waters Off Alaska Coast

By Malte Humpert (gCaptain) – 

China and Russia continue to step up their patrol activity in the Arctic. A week after the U.S. Coast Guard reported sighting Chinese and Russian patrol vessels around 500 miles southwest of Alaska, the foreign flotilla has come as close as 12 nautical miles of the Alaska coastline. 

AIS vessel tracking data show the convoy passing just outside U.S. territorial waters to the west of the Seward Peninsula on October 1. Satellite imagery also confirms the convoy traveling south in single file through the Bering Strait passing between Little Diomede Island and the Alaskan mainland.

The four vessels are part of the first-ever joint Arctic patrol between China and Russia. The two Chinese coast guard vessels and two Russian border patrol ships set off from Vladivostok, Russia in mid-September. Following a joint exercise in the Sea of Japan, the flotilla moved into the North Pacific.

It was here that a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130J Super Hercules airplane spotted the patrol at the end of September. 

“While patrolling the maritime boundary between the United States and Russia on routine patrol in the Bering Sea, a HC-130J Super Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak observed two Russian Border Guard ships and two Chinese Coast Guard ships approximately 440 miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island,” a press statement explained. 

At the time this marked the northernmost location the USCG had observed Chinese Coast Guard vessels. However, the flotilla kept moving further north into the Arctic and closer to Alaska.

Partial AIS data from Chinese coast guard vessel Xiushan confirms the fleet traveled north through the Bering Strait. After entering the Chukchi Sea the vessel turned south passing between Little Diomede Island and Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.

The flotilla consists of Chinese patrol ships Meishan and Xiushan and two unnamed Russian border patrol vessels. Meishan and Xiushan are based on the Chinese Navy frigate Type 054 with displacement of 4,000 tons across a length of 134 meters. 

In last week’s press release Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, highlighted the increasing interest strategic competitors have in the Arctic region.

“The demand for Coast Guard services across the region continues to grow, requiring continuous investment in our capabilities to meet our strategic competitors’ presence and fulfill our statutory missions across an expanding operational area.”  

It is unclear if the USCG dispatched any cutters or other vessels to the area of operation to monitor the Chinese and Russian activity in Alaska’s waters. At the time, both Coast Guard icebreakers, Healy and Polar Star, were homeported following emergency repairs and scheduled service life extension measures.

China’s increased Arctic activity has been examined by the U.S. Coast Guard going back more than a decade. The 2013 Coast Guard Arctic Strategy aptly described China’s expanding polar research capabilities and greater engagement in Arctic maritime activity. 

A decade later China’s Arctic capabilities have expanded manifold, including the launch of several icebreakers and ice-capable research vessels, while the Coast Guard’s shortage of icebreakers and Arctic-capable long-range patrol vessels remains unresolved.

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