China and Russia Send Warships Near Alaska in ‘Unprecedented’ Joint Show of Force

Chinese and Russian warships take part in military exercises at sea in a still from video released on July 24, 2023. (CCTV via Reuters/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Warships from a joint China–Russia naval operation buzzed the coast of Alaska last week in what has been described as the biggest combined Russian–Chinese battle group to ever approach U.S. shores.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said in an Aug. 5 statement that 11 Russian and Chinese warships operating together got close to the coast of Alaska, in what the lawmaker called “yet another reminder that we have entered a new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators of Beijing and Moscow.”

Mr. Sullivan, who’s a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News on Aug. 5 that the U.S. Navy mobilized four destroyers to escort the Chinese and Russian warships away from U.S. coastal waters.

The lawmaker noted that last summer, a similar, although smaller scale operation occurred off the coast of Alaska.

“Given that our response was tepid, I strongly encouraged senior military leaders to be ready with a much more robust response” in the event of another similar drill, Mr. Sullivan said in a follow-up statement.

He also said he was “heartened” to note that this latest incursion was met with a forceful response that sent a “strong message” to China and Russia that the United States “will not hesitate to protect and defend our vital national interests in Alaska.”

Details remain scant on the joint operation, however. While the U.S. Northern Command didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation and more details from The Epoch Times, a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that, in addition to naval vessels, U.S. air assets were also scrambled.

“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,” the command said in a statement, according to the outlet.

‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’

Experts said the China–Russia operation was the largest ever to approach the U.S. coast.

“This is the largest combined Russian–Chinese battle group to approach American shores ever,” Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a retired Navy captain, said in a post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

“Something wicked this way comes ...”

He echoed the view of the immense scale of the joint operation in an interview on Fox News.

“This is unprecedented in terms of the size and scope of this joint naval task force between Russia and China, working very closely together,” Mr. Sullivan told the outlet.

“Whether you live in Alaska like I do, or on the East Coast of the United States, a very large surface action task force between our two main adversaries, probing very closely to United States shores is concerning.”

He noted that he believes that the operation shows that leaders in China and Russia are becoming “increasingly aggressive” in their posture toward the United States.

Prior Incidents

The similar, although smaller, incident that Mr. Sullivan referred to in his statement took place in September 2022. That operation involved a Chinese missile cruiser, two other Chinese navy ships, and four Russian naval vessels.

The U.S. responded to that incursion with a single Coast Guard cutter, which he said was a weak response.

At the time, Rear Adm. Nathan Moore, the 17th Coast Guard District commander, said in a statement that the joint Chinese–Russian formation “operated in accordance with international rules and norms” while noting that U.S. naval forces would “meet presence-with-presence to ensure there are no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska.”

A Coast Guard crew member observes a vessel in the Bering Sea on Sept. 19, 2022. (US Coast Guard)

The Coast Guard release states that the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew spotted a Chinese Renhai CG 101 missile cruiser near Kiska Island while on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea.

Later, the crew saw two other Chinese vessels, a Russian navy destroyer, and three other Russian vessels “all in a single formation with the Renhai” and were “operating in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone,” according to the statement.

After the Russian and Chinese ships were detected, the Coast Guard stated that the Kimball crew is operating under a new directive—Operation Frontier Sentinel—which it says is “designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters.”

The Chinese and Russian formation came a month after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned about China’s interest in the Arctic and Russia’s military buildup there.

Elsewhere, China and the United Arab Emirates plan to hold their first joint air force drill to bolster military cooperation.

The Falcon Shield-2023 joint exercise will take place in China’s Xinjiang province, the Chinese Defense Ministry stated on July 31, without specifying the dates and scope of the training.

“This is the first joint training between both air forces, aiming to deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries and enhance mutual understanding and trust,” it said in a statement.

Jack Phillips and Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.