Chinese Navy Ships Alaska, Chinese navy ships off the coast of Alaska in recent days weren’t just operating in the area for the first time: They also came within 12 nautical miles of the U.S. coast, making a rare foray into U.S. territorial waters, according to the Pentagon.
Pentagon officials said for the first time late Thursday that the five Chinese navy ships had passed through U.S. territorial waters as they transited the Aleutian Islands, but said they had complied with international law. Analysts saw the passage as significant as Beijing has long objected to U.S. Navy vessels transiting its territorial waters or operating in international waters just outside.
China’s Defense Ministry also confirmed for the first time that its navy ships had sailed to the Bering Sea for training after joint exercises with Russia in late August, but said the activity was routine and not aimed at any particular country.
U.S. officials said earlier they were tracking the five ships in the area, where they hadn’t seen the Chinese navy operating before, but they didn’t say how close the ships came to U.S. territory.
The ships’ activity, just as President Barack Obama was visiting Alaska, threw a fresh spotlight on China’s expanding naval power and ambitions on the eve of a lavish military parade in Beijing.
But the ships didn’t do anything threatening and transited U.S. territorial waters in accordance with a principle of “innocent passage” in international law, Pentagon officials said.The five Chinese ships “transited expeditiously and continuously through the Aleutian Island chain in a manner consistent with international law,” a Pentagon spokesman said. Pentagon officials also confirmed that the vessels came within 12 nautical miles of the U.S. coast.
The Chinese foray into U.S. waters came just three weeks before China’s President, Xi Jinping, begins a state visit to the U.S. already clouded by tensions over alleged cyberattacks on the U.S. and China’s island-building in the South China Sea.
U.S. officials believe China is building a “blue-water” navy capable of operating far from its shores, while also developing missiles and other capabilities designed to prevent the U.S. Navy from intervening in a conflict in Asia.
Many of those capabilities, including a new antiship ballistic missile, were put on display for the first time on Thursday in a military parade in Beijing to mark the surrender of Japanese forces at the end of World War II.
But some U.S. military experts saw the Chinese transit through the Aleutians, in adhering to the “innocent passage” principle—which allows military ships to transit foreign territorial waters if they don’t conduct threatening activity—as a positive step.
“As a matter of fairness and equity, these operations are a big step forward for U.S. interests in that Beijing now has no basis to object to similar passage through China’s territorial sea by the U.S., for instance in vicinity of China’s islands in the South China Sea,” said Peter Dutton, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College.
China took another step in that direction last year when its navy ships made their debut at U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific, or Rimpac, joint naval drills in Hawaii.
U.S. officials said an uninvited Chinese spy ship observed the Rimpac drills from international waters just off Hawaii. China’s Defense Ministry said at the time that its ship operations complied with international law.
Still, Mr. Dutton and other experts said it was doubtful that China would suddenly stop objecting to U.S. naval ships passing through its territorial waters or conducting surveillance in nearby international waters.
The Chinese ships’ operations off Alaska “are also a big step forward in that China’s blue-water navy has announced its arrival as a global force,” Mr. Dutton added.
Pentagon officials said in May they were drawing up plans to send navy ships or aircraft within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands that China has been building in the disputed South China Sea.
Later that month, China expressed “strong dissatisfaction” and accused the U.S. of irresponsible and dangerous action after a U.S. Navy surveillance jet flew close to the artificial islands, but not within 12 nautical miles.
China’s Defense Ministry didn’t respond to questions about which ships were in the flotilla near Alaska and how close they came to U.S. territory.
In a brief statement, it said some Chinese navy ships had sailed to the Bering Sea and Western Pacific after taking part in joint exercises with Russia called “Joint Sea 2015 (II).”
“This is a routine arrangement in the annual plan, it is not aimed at any particular country and target,” the statement said.
Those exercises ran from Aug. 20-28 off the Russian Pacific coast—about 2,000 miles west of the Bering Sea—according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Seven Chinese ships took part, including two destroyers, two frigates, two landing ships and one supply ship, Xinhua said.
U.S. officials said the five ships near the Aleutians included three Chinese combat ships, a supply vessel and an amphibious landing ship.
Pentagon officials said for the first time late Thursday that the five Chinese navy ships had passed through U.S. territorial waters as they transited the Aleutian Islands, but said they had complied with international law. Analysts saw the passage as significant as Beijing has long objected to U.S. Navy vessels transiting its territorial waters or operating in international waters just outside.
China’s Defense Ministry also confirmed for the first time that its navy ships had sailed to the Bering Sea for training after joint exercises with Russia in late August, but said the activity was routine and not aimed at any particular country.
U.S. officials said earlier they were tracking the five ships in the area, where they hadn’t seen the Chinese navy operating before, but they didn’t say how close the ships came to U.S. territory.
The ships’ activity, just as President Barack Obama was visiting Alaska, threw a fresh spotlight on China’s expanding naval power and ambitions on the eve of a lavish military parade in Beijing.
But the ships didn’t do anything threatening and transited U.S. territorial waters in accordance with a principle of “innocent passage” in international law, Pentagon officials said.The five Chinese ships “transited expeditiously and continuously through the Aleutian Island chain in a manner consistent with international law,” a Pentagon spokesman said. Pentagon officials also confirmed that the vessels came within 12 nautical miles of the U.S. coast.
The Chinese foray into U.S. waters came just three weeks before China’s President, Xi Jinping, begins a state visit to the U.S. already clouded by tensions over alleged cyberattacks on the U.S. and China’s island-building in the South China Sea.
U.S. officials believe China is building a “blue-water” navy capable of operating far from its shores, while also developing missiles and other capabilities designed to prevent the U.S. Navy from intervening in a conflict in Asia.
Many of those capabilities, including a new antiship ballistic missile, were put on display for the first time on Thursday in a military parade in Beijing to mark the surrender of Japanese forces at the end of World War II.
But some U.S. military experts saw the Chinese transit through the Aleutians, in adhering to the “innocent passage” principle—which allows military ships to transit foreign territorial waters if they don’t conduct threatening activity—as a positive step.
“As a matter of fairness and equity, these operations are a big step forward for U.S. interests in that Beijing now has no basis to object to similar passage through China’s territorial sea by the U.S., for instance in vicinity of China’s islands in the South China Sea,” said Peter Dutton, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College.
China took another step in that direction last year when its navy ships made their debut at U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific, or Rimpac, joint naval drills in Hawaii.
U.S. officials said an uninvited Chinese spy ship observed the Rimpac drills from international waters just off Hawaii. China’s Defense Ministry said at the time that its ship operations complied with international law.
Still, Mr. Dutton and other experts said it was doubtful that China would suddenly stop objecting to U.S. naval ships passing through its territorial waters or conducting surveillance in nearby international waters.
The Chinese ships’ operations off Alaska “are also a big step forward in that China’s blue-water navy has announced its arrival as a global force,” Mr. Dutton added.
Pentagon officials said in May they were drawing up plans to send navy ships or aircraft within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands that China has been building in the disputed South China Sea.
Later that month, China expressed “strong dissatisfaction” and accused the U.S. of irresponsible and dangerous action after a U.S. Navy surveillance jet flew close to the artificial islands, but not within 12 nautical miles.
China’s Defense Ministry didn’t respond to questions about which ships were in the flotilla near Alaska and how close they came to U.S. territory.
In a brief statement, it said some Chinese navy ships had sailed to the Bering Sea and Western Pacific after taking part in joint exercises with Russia called “Joint Sea 2015 (II).”
“This is a routine arrangement in the annual plan, it is not aimed at any particular country and target,” the statement said.
Those exercises ran from Aug. 20-28 off the Russian Pacific coast—about 2,000 miles west of the Bering Sea—according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Seven Chinese ships took part, including two destroyers, two frigates, two landing ships and one supply ship, Xinhua said.
U.S. officials said the five ships near the Aleutians included three Chinese combat ships, a supply vessel and an amphibious landing ship.
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