The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday it tracked a group of Russian naval vessels, including two submarines, as they crossed into U.S. waters off Alaska in an apparent attempt to avoid sea ice, a move allowed under international rules and customs.
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton saw the Russian military vessels cross the maritime border and venture 30 miles into an area that extends beyond U.S. territorial waters known as the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
The Russian vessels included two submarines, a frigate and tugboat, the coast guard said. The encounter took place nearly 60 miles northwest of Point Hope.
US Coast Guard courtesy photo
“We actively patrol our maritime border in the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea, with our largest and most capable cutters and aircraft, to protect U.S. sovereign interests, U.S. fish stocks, and to promote international maritime standards,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean. “The Coast Guard Cutter Stratton ensured there was no interference with US interests.”
The Coast Guard said the Stratton, a 418-foot Legend-class national security cutter, “is on patrol during Operation Frontier Sentinel, an operation designed to meet presence with presence as strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters.”
The incident occurred less than two months after US military wiretapped several Russian and Chinese bombers in international airspace near the coast of Alaska.
Military activity from the US, Canada, Russia and China has increased in the Arctic. In July, Moscow said so warped fighter jets to intercept two US military long-range bombers approaching the Russian border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.