USCGCC Kimball (WMSL 756) conducts flight operations while underway in the North Pacific Ocean Sept. 26, 2022. U.S. Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard encountered multiple military ships from the People’s Republic of China in the Bering Sea over the weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday, the crew of the USCGC Kimball (WMSL 756) detected three vessels approximately 124 miles north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, while an HC-130J aircrew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak identified an additional vessel about 84 miles north of the Amukta Pass.
All four Chinese vessels were transiting in international waters but within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the U.S. shoreline.
“The Chinese naval presence operated in accordance with international rules and norms,” stated Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander. “We met presence with presence to ensure there were no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”
The Chinese vessels responded to U.S. Coast Guard radio communication, stating their purpose as “freedom of navigation operations.” The Coast Guard cutter Kimball monitored the ships until they moved south of the Aleutian Islands into the North Pacific Ocean. The Kimball continues to oversee activities in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone to ensure the safety of U.S. vessels and international commerce.
The Coast Guard, in coordination with U.S. Northern Command, was fully aware of and tracked the Chinese naval presence. Similar encounters with Chinese surface action groups occurred in September 2021 and 2022 in the Bering Sea.
The Kimball was patrolling under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Coast Guard initiative designed to respond to strategic competitors operating near U.S. waters. The U.S Coast Guard’s presence aims to strengthen the international rules-based order and ensure operations adhere to international norms.
The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball is a 418-foot legend class national security cutter based in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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