a Coast Guard cutterThe Coast Guard cutter Kimball moored successful Unalaska (Maggie Nelson/KUCB)

The U.S. Coast Guard encountered four People’s Republic of China subject warships successful nan Bering Sea earlier this month.

The overseas vessels spotted July 6 and 7 were pursuing world law, and told Coast Guard unit they were practicing “freedom of navigation operations.”

Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Michael Salerno said encounters pinch groups of Chinese vessels person been an yearly occurrence successful nan Bering Sea since 2021, and Chinese naval ships person been spotted successful nan area since 2017. He said he didn’t person accusation astir encounters pinch Chinese vessels anterior to that.

In 2021, the Coast Guard spotted 4 warships in nan region. About a twelvemonth later, nan Coast Guard cutter Kimball stumbled upon Chinese and Russian subject vessels traveling together adjacent Kiska Island. Then successful 2023, U.S. Navy warships were dispatched to nan Aleutians, aft 11 Chinese and Russian subject vessels were recovered operating successful nan region.

The latest 4 ships were successful world waters wrong nan U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, an area up to astir 200 nautical miles offshore, wherever nan U.S. has jurisdiction complete earthy resources.

The unit of nan Kimball detected 3 of nan latest ships 124 miles northbound of Amchitka Pass successful nan Aleutian Islands. Crew connected an HC-130J airplane recovered different vessel northeast of Atka Island.

None of nan ships collapsed immoderate world rules aliases norms. Still, nan 418-foot Kimball contacted nan Chinese vessels to guarantee location were nary disruptions to Alaska’s coastline aliases nationalist interests. The Kimball continued monitoring nan ships until they entered nan North Pacific Ocean, southbound of nan Aleutians.