China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time while conducting a joint exercise with the Russian Border Guard.
In a 2 October 2024 post on its Weixin social media account the CCG stated, “A few days ago, a fleet of Chinese and Russian coast guard ships arrived in the Arctic Ocean. This is the first time that Chinese coast guard ships have entered the Arctic Ocean, which effectively expanded the scope of the coast guard’s ocean-going navigation, comprehensively tested the coast guard ships’ ability to carry out missions in unfamiliar waters, and provided strong support for active participation in international and regional ocean governance.”
The previous day the US Coast Guard (USCG) issued a press release stating that it had located four vessels from the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard conducting a joint patrol in the Bering Sea on 28 September.
While patrolling the maritime boundary between the United States and Russia on routine patrol in the Bering Sea, a USCG HC-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying out of Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak observed two Russian Border Guard ships and two Chinese Coast Guard ships approximately 440 miles southwest of St Lawrence Island.
The vessels were transiting in formation in a northeast direction, remaining approximately five miles inside Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This marked the northernmost location where CCG vessels have been observed by the USCG.
“This recent activity demonstrates the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors,” Rear Admiral Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, was quoted as saying. “The demand for Coast Guard services across the region continues to grow, requiring continuous investment in our capabilities to meet our strategic competitors’ presence and fulfill our statutory missions across an expanding operational area.”
The HC-130J aircrew were operating under Operation ‘Frontier Sentinel’: an mission designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around US waters. The USCG’s presence is intended to strengthen the international rules-based order and promote the conduct of operations in a manner that follows international law and norms.
China frequently uses the CCG as an alternative instrument of power projection to the People’s Liberation Army Navy, especially to assert China’s claims in disputed waters in the South China Sea, for example.
