U.S. dispatches warships to respond to Chinese and Russian naval exercise near Alaskan coast

The U.S. government dispatched four navy ships and reconnaissance airplanes after several Chinese and Russian military ships were spotted near Alaska last week, defense officials and lawmakers said this weekend.  

The Chinese and Russian ships were conducting a joint naval patrol, making it the largest flotilla to approach the U.S. mainland, experts told the Wall Street Journal, which reported the news first. 

“It’s a historical first,” Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. 

While the flotilla remained in international waters, the U.S. officials believe the number of vessels and their proximity to Alaska to be “highly provocative,” considering the rising political tensions with both Beijing and Moscow. 

“Air and maritime assets under our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada. The patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat,” said the U.S. Northern Command. 

In response to the situation, the Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command sent four destroyers and a Poseidon P-8 airplane to the region to track the flotilla.  

“We have been in close contact with leadership … for several days now and received detailed classified briefings about the foreign vessels that are transiting US waters in the Aleutians," said Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. 

“This is a stark reminder of Alaska’s proximity to both China and Russia, as well as the essential role our state plays in our national defense and territorial sovereignty,” she added. 

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Lui Pengyu told CNN that the patrol was part of the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian military. 

“This action is not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation,” Pengyu continued.