Chinese Warships Close in on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands: A Wake-Up Call?

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Alaska is a key player in the Pacific Ocean, or at least the region north of the Equator. Before World War II, General Billy Mitchell described Alaska as the “most important strategic place in all of humanity.” It seems that China (and Russia), agree with this statement. The Middle Kingdom has sent its warships to the Alaskan coast once more, but it is not as bad as you might think.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that multiple Chinese military vessels were seen in the waters near Alaska on Wednesday.

Three ships were detected around 124 miles north-northeast of Amchitka Pass, in the Aleutian islands. A fourth vessel was seen about 84 miles north-northeast of Amukta Pass. These ships were spotted on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Coast Guard reported that all four ships were located in international waters but within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone extends 200 nautical miles away from the U.S. coast. The United States holds exclusive rights to explore and use marine resources in these zones.

According to Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Coast Guard district commander, all four ships “operated according to international rules and standards.”

Amukta Pass is located between Amukta Island, which lies between Adak Island, and Seguam Island, to the east of Adak Island, and Atka Island. There are only small passages in the Aleutians that connect some cold, wet spots. It’s not like the Chinese ships were in Cook Inlet, looking at downtown Anchorage through binoculars.

The Chinese presence in the Aleutians, according to an ancient Chinese proverb is interesting because of China’s growing belligerence in the Western Pacific.

When the Coast Guard challenged the Chinese ships, they gave a very familiar reason for their presence.

Dean explained that when the Coast Guard contacted the Chinese vessels to “ensure that there were no interruptions to U.S. maritime interests around Alaska,” they replied by saying they were in the region for “freedom-of-navigation operations.”

The U.S. Coast Guard Kimball, a national security vessel measuring 418 feet in length that has conducted joint exercises previously in the Indo-Pacific area, tracked the naval presence. The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball is in the region as part of Operation Frontier Sentinel. This exercise was “designed to match presence with presence” when strategic competitors operate around U.S. waterways, according to the agency.

There may be several reasons why China is interested in the Aleutians, even though there are no signs that anything untoward happened this time.

Alaska is the crown of the Pacific, as I wrote. Alaskan forces stand in the path of China’s expansion in the Pacific. Although few of these forces are located in the Aleutians they could serve as a launchpad for an aggressive attack against the main part 49th state. This would be a very difficult move to pull off for China, but they wouldn’t have to invade Alaska to make the American military force there more vulnerable. They could simply close the ports at Anchorage and Valdez and reduce the impact.

This move would have been preceded, yes, by reconnaissance in the Aleutians.

No direct evidence exists that China is involved in this. It would make sense from their perspective to be able to navigate that area of the world.