James Myers of OAN
Thursday, July 11, 2024 8:21 AM
A Chinese naval warship was spotted off the coast of Alaska, U.S. Coast Guard officials said in a news release on Wednesday.
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Three of the warships were spotted about 124 miles north of Amchitka Strait in the Aleutian Islands, while the fourth was spotted 84 miles north of Amchitka Strait in the Commonwealth of Texas. The two ships were spotted on both Saturday and Sunday of last week.
All four vessels were on the high seas, but within the U.S. exclusive economic zone, which extends more than 200 nautical miles from the U.S. coast, where the United States has exclusive rights to explore and use marine resources, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said it and U.S. Northern Command have “full knowledge” of the Chinese ships’ paths.
“The Kimball conducted the patrol under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Coast Guard operation aimed at providing presence to counter strategic competitors operating in and near U.S. waters,” the statement said.
“The Chinese navy’s activities complied with international rules and norms,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District. “We responded with presence to ensure that they did not impede U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”
The Chinese vessel, meanwhile, told the Coast Guard that its mission was a “freedom of navigation operation.” Kimball watched the vessel as it headed south into the North Pacific.
Similar incidents have also occurred over the past few years, with Coast Guard patrol vessels in the area encountering Chinese surface activity groups in September 2021 and September 2022.
In 2023, the U.S. Navy sent four destroyers to the coast of Alaska after 11 Chinese and Russian warships were spotted patrolling international waters within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
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