Chinese Ship In American Waters? US Coast Guard Detects Icebreaker Off Alaska, Beijing Responds
US Coast Guard recently detected a Chinese icebreaker off Alaska, to which Beijing has now responded (Image Courtesy: USCG)
Amid the existing tariff tensions between the US and China, another controversy struck the two countries as the US Coast Guard detected a research vessel with a Chinese flag near the Utqiagvik borough of Alaska (US state). Xue Long 2, a research icebreaker ship, was detected on the US Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) on Friday (July 25), approximately 290 NM north of Utqiagvik.
In response, the US Coast Guard sent the C-130J Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak to the Xue Long 2. The USCG, in a statement, said that the research icebreaker is being operated by the Polar Research Institute of China and 130 NM inside the ECS boundary.
According to Rear Admiral Bob Little, Commander of the US Coast Guard Arctic District, “The U.S. Coast Guard, alongside partners and other agencies, vigilantly monitors and responds to foreign government vessel activity in and near US waters to secure territorial integrity and defend sovereign interests against malign state activity.”
What was China’s response to the US Coard Guard claim?
China lambasted the USCG in its mouthpiece news outlet – Global Times – in a statement which came as a response to the US Coast Guard claim of finding a Chinese research vessel in their territory. Beijing added that the ship is in international waters and accused the US of calling the ECS as its own area.
They say that America changed the boundaries in December 2023 and that China does not agree with any country making its own rules. China claims that the United States is ignoring international law.
“China’s position on Arctic maritime rights and interests has been made clear that they must be handled in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” Beijing stated in the Global Times.
Why ECS Matters?
The Extended Continental Shelf is becoming more important because the melting ice in the Arctic is opening up new shipping routes and making it easier to reach hidden oil, gas, and minerals. Although the ECS is outside the US’ 200-mile economic zone, international rules say that countries like the US have special rights to use the resources on the sea floor there.
Has Canada also joined the vigil?
The Canadian military also kept an eye on the ship, media reports said. Someone from Canada’s Joint Operations Centre stated the vessel was not in Canadian waters, but a CP-140 Aurora surveillance plane from Alaska was watching what it was doing.
Notably, the Chinese vessel was spotted just days after the United States tracked four Russian military planes in the Alaskan Air Defence Identification Zone. It is worth mentioning that this is an area of international airspace where planes must share their identity for safety and security purposes.
