Antonio Graceffo
Earlier this month, the China Coast Guard claimed to have entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time as part of a joint patrol with Russia. In mid-September, Russia and China launched “Ocean-24,” a large-scale naval and air exercise spanning the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The drill involved over 400 warships, submarines, and support vessels, along with more than 120 aircraft and 90,000 troops. Around the same time, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracked four Russian military aircraft entering Alaska’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
These recent incursions follow similar incidents from earlier this summer. In July, two Russian and two Chinese bombers flew within 200 miles of Alaska’s coast, and NORAD reported the aircraft crossing Alaska’s ADIZ. That same month, the US Coast Guard also identified Chinese military vessels operating near the Aleutian Islands, within the US exclusive economic zone. These actions highlight not only the deepening collaboration between the world’s second- and third-largest militaries but also a growing pattern of incursions into the Arctic, the Bering Strait, and waters near Alaska. This northward push appears to be part of China’s broader strategy to assert dominance in the Arctic.
China has declared itself a “near-Arctic state” as part of a broader strategy to gain influence in the Arctic, though this is a self-proclaimed title not officially recognized by Arctic nations or international bodies.
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